About Us
Our Vision
- Be a leader in educating students who with knowledge, skill and compassion dedicate their lives to the well being of their patients, their community and their profession.
Our Mission
- Provide a quality, broad-based medical education with an emphasis on family medicine.
- Encourage our graduates to serve medically underserved areas of South Dakota.
- Provide excellence in education, research and service through the Doctor of Medicine degree, Doctor of Philosophy degree and other degree programs.
- Address health care in the state by providing graduate and continuing education as well as undergraduate education.
- Serve as a technical resource in developing health care policy in the state.
Our Name
- We became the Sanford School of Medicine in 2006 after philanthropist T. Denny Sanford pledged $20 million to our school.
- We remain an entity of USD but closely collaborate with Sanford Health as well as the rest of our partners – Avera Health, Regional Health and the Veterans Administration.
- We use the Sanford gift to enhance faculty, training programs and development.
Our Economic Impact
- Last year awarded more than $17 million in external research grants and contracts.
- Play a major role in attracting biotech and biomedical companies to South Dakota.
- Critical role in the governor's initiative to boost research in the state.
- Integral role in the state's growth as a regional health care center.
- Our students come from 39 of South Dakota's 66 counties.
- More than 600 of our graduates serve our state.
