Medical College of Wisconsin

The Medical College of Wisconsin comprises a diverse group of thought leaders collaborating to build a healthier world. At the core of everything we do is academic medicine, which brings together scientists, clinicians, students and community members to solve challenges in health and society.

Mission

The Medical College of Wisconsin is a distinguished leader and innovator in the education and development of the next generation of physicians, pharmacists and health professionals. We discover and translate new knowledge in the biomedical and health sciences, provide cutting-edge, collaborative patient care of the highest quality and improve the health of the communities we serve.

Patient Services

MCW physicians and practitioners rewrite the stories of patients and families with the latest treatment options, cutting-edge clinical trials and collaborative, team-based care. Our clinicians work with teams of leading scientists to pioneer new treatments, inspire and educate the next generation of doctors and contribute to groundbreaking research. This is the power of academic medicine, harnessed to treat the most complex conditions and advance the health of entire communities.

Approximately 1,680 MCW physicians and more than 750 nurse practitioners, physician assistants and other health care practitioners provide adult patient care as the Medical College Physicians at Froedtert & MCW hospitals, clinics and the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center. They provide pediatric patient care through Children’s Specialty Group, a joint venture with Children’s Hospital and Health System clinics. The Medical College of Wisconsin physician practice includes doctors in every specialty and subspecialty of medicine.

Each year, MCW providers, physician assistants, nurse practitioners and psychologists care for more than 449,000 patients, representing more than 3.1 million patient visits. MCW providers practice at three major affiliates: Froedtert Hospital, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, the Zablocki VA Medical Center and many other hospitals and clinics in the Milwaukee area.

MCW practicing physicians account for 45% of Wisconsin doctors listed in Best Doctors in America®.


Education

MCW physicians, pharmacists and other health care professionals care for patients while teaching the next generation of health care providers. Scientists conduct research while working side by side with graduate students. Our faculty members teach and mentor to help advance students’ careers and to pass along the latest knowledge to tomorrow’s practitioners. We strive for ever-increasing excellence in our models of teaching, and our innovative approach to health sciences education is improving access to health care where it is needed most.

There are more than 1,500 students enrolled in degree-granting educational programs at the Medical College of Wisconsin. This includes 995 medical students, more than 326 graduate students, approximately 139 pharmacy students and 47 Master of Science students.

In addition, MCW faculty members supervise more than 700 physicians in residency training and 200 physicians in fellowship training through the Medical College of Wisconsin Affiliated Hospitals. Approximately 130 scientists are engaged in postdoctoral research fellowship training through the Office of Postdoctoral Education.

More than 11,100 physicians and 4,800 other health professionals participate in Continuing Medical Education-accredited activities offered annually.
 

Research

Our scientists lead biomedical and population health advancements through laboratory research, clinical trials and community-engaged research. These studies are conducted in collaboration with local, national and global thought leaders and innovators. Research drives new knowledge that can change everything, including how we define, diagnose, treat and prevent disease, as well as how we train the next generation to push beyond the boundaries of what is possible. MCW is a major national research center, in fact, the largest research institution in the Milwaukee metro area and second largest in Wisconsin.

MCW’s research enterprise is focused on strategic, prioritized areas of research involving interdisciplinary collaboration among scientists and physicians with the goal of rapidly translating discoveries into advances for patient care.

The MCW is the largest private research institution in Wisconsin, is in the top 5% worldwide in publishing new knowledge and is in the top third of all U.S. medical schools in National Institutes of Health research support.
 

Office of Technology Development

MCW translates science into clinical care through technology-development collaborations with industry partners, including startup ventures.

In FY 2021, 45 new discoveries and inventions were reported. The MCW portfolio includes 321 technologies covered by more than 594 pending and issued U.S. and foreign patents. It also includes 70 technology license agreements with pharmaceutical, biotechnology, imaging, medical device and software companies. MCW has research and development affiliations with 41 campus institutions, health care organizations and government groups in Wisconsin and elsewhere.
 

Community Engagement

MCW faculty and staff are in engaged in more than 2,400 community outreach activities, involving more than 600 community partner organizations, to advance the health of people and communities throughout metro Milwaukee and Wisconsin.

The Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin endowment has awarded more than $233M in awards to more than 380 initiatives dedicated to improving the health of the people of Wisconsin.


History

A passion for new knowledge and a dedication to a healthier world inspired the founding of the Medical College of Wisconsin 125 years ago. Through research, discoveries and treatments, countless lives across Wisconsin and around the world are being changed for the better every day.

View MCW’s History →