Delaware has no medical school of its own, so it reserves seats at two schools in Philadelphia. Through the Delaware Institute of Medical Education and Research (DIMER), 20 first-year places at Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University and 10 at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine are held each year for Delaware residents (DIMER).
The DIMER Board makes the final call on who qualifies as a Delaware resident (DIMER), and two of the state's major health systems, Bayhealth and ChristianaCare, are the clinical training sites where medical students complete clerkships in Delaware (ChristianaCare).
Medical schools in Delaware
School list: LCME and COCA accreditation lists, via the list of medical schools in the United States, checked October 2026.
Teaching hospitals in Delaware by city
- Wilmington: Christiana Care Health System; St. Francis Hospital Wilmington; Alfred I Dupont Hosp for Children
- Dover: Bayhealth Hospital Kent Campus
- Milford: Bayhealth Hospital Sussex Campus
Facts about Delaware
- Because Delaware has no state-supported medical school, the Delaware Institute of Medical Education and Research reserves 20 first-year admission slots each year at Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University and 10 at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine for Delaware residents. (Delaware Health Care Commission)
- ChristianaCare, Bayhealth and the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine announced the Delaware Collaborative Clinical Campus on February 18, 2026: from July 2026, five third-year PCOM students, all of them DIMER students from Delaware, do core rotations mainly in Kent and Sussex counties. (ChristianaCare)
- Those five are in addition to the 55 PCOM students already training at the Delaware Branch Campus at ChristianaCare. (ChristianaCare)
- ChristianaCare welcomed 104 new residents and fellows into 35 residency and fellowship programs at its Long Coat Ceremony on June 20, 2025. (ChristianaCare)
- Jefferson lists four DIMER partners, the Delaware Higher Education Office, Christiana Care's Delaware Branch Campus, PCOM and Sidney Kimmel Medical College, and says SKMC reserves up to 20 places in each incoming class for Delaware residents. (Thomas Jefferson University)
- To count as a Delaware resident for DIMER, an applicant needs a permanent Delaware address, a Delaware tax filing of their own or as a dependent, and, if registered to vote, Delaware voter registration; PCOM sends its residency form after it receives the AACOMAS application. (Delaware Health Care Commission)
- In the 2025 Main Residency Match, programs in Delaware offered 113 residency positions in 11 specialties, the most in internal medicine (29), family medicine (27), and emergency medicine (18). (NRMP)
- Christiana Care Health System in Wilmington, St. Francis Hospital Wilmington in Wilmington, Bayhealth Hospital Kent Campus in Dover, Bayhealth Hospital Sussex Campus in Milford, and Alfred I Dupont Hosp for Children in Wilmington are on the CMS teaching hospital list for Delaware. (CMS Open Payments)
Sources: Delaware Health Care Commission, DIMER (checked October 29, 2026); ChristianaCare, Delaware Collaborative Clinical Campus (checked November 1, 2026); ChristianaCare, Long Coat Ceremony 2025 (checked November 1, 2026); Thomas Jefferson University, SKMC DIMER program (checked November 1, 2026); NRMP, 2025 Main Residency Match by state and specialty (checked October 29, 2026); CMS Open Payments, teaching hospital list (checked October 22, 2026).
Who counts as a Delaware resident for DIMER
DIMER's residency test is specific. An applicant needs a permanent address in Delaware, must file taxes in Delaware or be claimed as a dependent by someone who files there in the most recent tax year before college, and, if registered to vote, must be registered in Delaware. Other evidence, such as a Delaware high school or a minimum of twelve consecutive months of bills at a Delaware address, can support the case, and the DIMER Board makes the final decision (DIMER).
PCOM sends its Delaware residency form after it receives an applicant's AACOMAS application and reserves up to 10 seats in the incoming class on its Philadelphia campus (DIMER).
Clinical years back in Delaware
DIMER students do not have to leave the state for good. PCOM students have trained at ChristianaCare facilities in New Castle County for decades, and 55 are training at the Delaware Branch Campus at ChristianaCare (ChristianaCare).
On February 18, 2026, ChristianaCare, Bayhealth and PCOM announced the Delaware Collaborative Clinical Campus. From July 2026, five third-year PCOM students do core rotations at Bayhealth and ChristianaCare, mainly in Kent and Sussex counties, in specialties that include primary care, OB-GYN and psychiatry; the first five are all DIMER students from Delaware (ChristianaCare).
For a third-year on those rotations, COMLEX Level 2-CE preparation has to fit a schedule spread across several hospitals and two counties. We build the plan from the rotation calendar and line up each rotation's end-of-rotation exam with the review for it.
Residency positions in Delaware
Delaware programs offered 113 positions in 11 specialties in the 2025 Main Residency Match: 29 in internal medicine, 27 in family medicine, 18 in emergency medicine, 10 in surgery, 7 in obstetrics and gynecology and 6 in psychiatry (NRMP).
Combined training is a real part of that list: 5 positions in internal medicine-pediatrics, 3 in emergency medicine-family medicine and 3 in internal medicine-emergency medicine, 11 of the 113 (NRMP).
ChristianaCare, headquartered in Wilmington, welcomed 104 new residents and fellows into 35 residency and fellowship programs at its Long Coat Ceremony on June 20, 2025 (ChristianaCare Long Coat Ceremony). Residents in its internal medicine programs later sit the ABIM internal medicine exam, which we also tutor.
Which board exams Delaware students take
Sidney Kimmel Medical College grants the MD, so DIMER's Jefferson students sit the USMLE: Step 1, reported pass/fail since January 26, 2022, Step 2 CK and, in residency, Step 3.
PCOM's DIMER students take COMLEX-USA (NBOME): Level 1, Level 2-CE and Level 3. Some add the USMLE as well; our COMLEX Level 2 vs Step 2 CK comparison helps with that decision.
Delaware licensing rules that affect your exam plan
Delaware's board states its limits in USMLE terms. FSMB lists 1 year of training before a first license, or 3 years for international medical graduates; no more than 6 attempts to pass each step; and 7 years to complete the USMLE. None of the three lines names COMLEX (FSMB).
| Rule | What Delaware requires |
|---|
| Training before first license | 1 year; 3 years IMG |
| Exam attempts | No more than 6 attempts to pass each step |
| Time limit | 7 years to complete USMLE |
Source: FSMB state licensure requirements, checked October 2026; confirm with the board before relying on them.
What Delaware's rules mean for how you study
- Delaware allows no more than 6 attempts to pass each step (FSMB), but the USMLE program stops at four per Step (USMLE eligibility rules). Plan around four; the board's six is the looser limit.
- Delaware gives 7 years to complete the USMLE (FSMB). Nothing in the line says when the seven years begin, so check with the board before a research year, a leave or a late Step 3.
- Delaware's three lines never name COMLEX (FSMB). A DIMER student at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine should ask the board how COMLEX attempts and time are counted before building a timeline.
- International medical graduates need 3 years of training before a first Delaware license against 1 year for everyone else (FSMB), so an IMG should map the extra two years before applying.
Many Delaware students rotate, interview or match next door. Delaware's neighbors on our list: Maryland (3 MD, 1 DO), New Jersey (4 MD, 1 DO), Pennsylvania (7 MD, 3 DO).
How much Delaware searches for board prep
Delaware sits in the lower middle of the field on most terms: 29th of 51 for USMLE, 32nd for Step 2 and 37th for Step 1. COMLEX is its best, at 22nd, and shelf exam its lowest, at 42nd (Google Trends, October 2021 to October 2026). COMLEX outranking every USMLE term is notable in a state with no DO school, though DIMER does reserve 10 seats a year at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (DIMER).
| Search term | Delaware rank of 51 |
|---|
| USMLE | 29 |
| USMLE Step 1 | 37 |
| USMLE Step 2 | 32 |
| COMLEX | 22 |
| Shelf exam | 42 |
Source: Google Trends, United States, past 5 years, retrieved October 2026; ranks show relative interest, not student numbers.
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