New Mexico has one school for each degree. The University of New Mexico School of Medicine in Albuquerque (public, founded 1964) grants the MD, and Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine in Las Cruces (private, founded 2013) grants the DO (school list). Burrell now calls itself Burrell College of Health Sciences and describes itself as a private, investor-owned school affiliated with New Mexico State University but separately licensed and independently operated, with a second campus in Melbourne, Florida (Burrell College).
UNM is a state school in the full sense: it drew 1,719 applications for 103 first-year places in 2025-26, and 78.6% of its entering class came from New Mexico (AAMC FACTS). Four of the state's ten teaching hospitals are in Albuquerque and two in Las Cruces, one city for each school (CMS teaching hospital list).
Medical schools in New Mexico
| School | City | Degree | Founded | Type | Exam series |
|---|
| University of New Mexico School of Medicine | Albuquerque | MD | 1964 | Public | USMLE |
| Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine at New Mexico State University | Las Cruces | DO | 2013 | Private | COMLEX-USA |
Several of these schools teach students at more than one site: Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine at New Mexico State University also lists Melbourne, Florida.
School list: LCME and COCA accreditation lists, via the list of medical schools in the United States, checked October 2026.
Teaching hospitals in New Mexico by city
- Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Hospital; Lovelace Medical Center- Downtown; Lovelace Womens Hospital; Presbyterian Hospital
- Las Cruces: Memorial Medical Center; Mountain View Reg Med Ctr
- Santa Fe: St. Vincent Hospital
- Alamogordo: Gerald Champion Regional Medical Ctr
- Carlsbad: Carlsbad Medical Center
- Rio Rancho: UNM Sandoval Regional Medical Center
Facts about New Mexico
| School | City | LCME accreditation | Next full survey | 2025-26 applications | First-year places | Entering class from New Mexico |
|---|
| University of New Mexico School of Medicine | Albuquerque | Full, since 1964 | 2033-34 | 1,719 | 103 | 78.6% |
Accreditation: LCME directory; applications, places and in-state share: AAMC FACTS, Table A-1.
- The University of New Mexico School of Medicine runs its curriculum in three phases: a 23-month preclinical Phase I, a 12-month clinical Phase II of required clerkships, and a final 12-month Phase III of electives, a required sub-internship and an ICU rotation. (UNM School of Medicine)
- During Phase I, UNM students spend a 6-week Practical Immersion Experience, a rural, community-based preceptorship in which they live in the community they are assigned to and are mentored by a practicing physician. (UNM School of Medicine)
- Phase I at UNM is broken up by WISE weeks, intersessions for wellness, content integration, Step 1 preparation and learning and test-taking strategies. (UNM School of Medicine)
- For the Class of 2026, UNM's Phase I calendar set Step 1 study from March 25 to May 10, 2024, with the exam to be taken by May 10 and Phase II starting June 3, 2024. (UNM School of Medicine)
- UNM's learning-support program tells students to start planning for Step 1 in the fall semester of second year, begin concentrated study in early January, and expect eight weeks of dedicated Step 1 study time. (UNM School of Medicine)
- Burrell College of Health Sciences describes itself as a private, investor-owned medical school affiliated with New Mexico State University but separately licensed and independently operated, with a second campus in Melbourne, Florida. (Burrell College of Health Sciences)
- Burrell's DO students do their clinical training across family medicine, internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, psychiatry and osteopathic manipulative medicine. (Burrell College of Health Sciences)
- In the 2025 Main Residency Match, programs in New Mexico offered 197 residency positions in 19 specialties, the most in family medicine (39), internal medicine (34), and pediatrics (21). (NRMP)
- University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque, St. Vincent Hospital in Santa Fe, Gerald Champion Regional Medical Ctr in Alamogordo, Lovelace Medical Center- Downtown in Albuquerque, Lovelace Womens Hospital in Albuquerque, Memorial Medical Center in Las Cruces, Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque, Carlsbad Medical Center in Carlsbad, Mountain View Reg Med Ctr in Las Cruces, and UNM Sandoval Regional Medical Center in Rio Rancho are on the CMS teaching hospital list for New Mexico. (CMS Open Payments)
Sources: LCME, directory of accredited U.S. programs (checked October 29, 2026); AAMC FACTS, Table A-1, 2025-2026 (checked October 29, 2026); UNM School of Medicine, Phase I Medical Student Handbook, Class of 2026 (checked November 1, 2026); UNM School of Medicine, Applied Cognition in the Medical Sciences Program (checked November 1, 2026); Burrell College of Health Sciences, home page (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).
Where Step 1 falls at UNM
UNM's MD curriculum has three phases: a 23-month preclinical Phase I, a 12-month Phase II of required clerkships in family medicine, internal medicine, neurology, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, psychiatry and surgery, and a final 12-month Phase III with electives, a sub-internship and an ICU rotation (UNM Phase I handbook).
Step 1 closes Phase I. For the Class of 2026 the school's calendar set Step 1 study from March 25 to May 10, 2024, with the exam taken by May 10 and Phase II starting June 3 (UNM Phase I handbook). UNM's learning-support office tells students to start planning in the fall of second year, begin concentrated study in early January and expect eight weeks of dedicated time (UNM ACMSP).
That January start is the part students skip. The organ-system blocks keep running through the spring, so the months before dedicated time are about a daily question habit alongside coursework, not a second curriculum. We set the weekly question count from a baseline NBME taken in winter, then use the eight weeks to close the gaps that baseline shows. Phase I also has WISE weeks, intersessions the school reserves for wellness, content integration, Step 1 preparation and test-taking strategy, and we use them as checkpoints (UNM Phase I handbook).
Six rural weeks before the clerkships
Every UNM student does a Practical Immersion Experience in Phase I: six weeks in a rural community, living where they are assigned and mentored by a practicing physician (UNM Phase I handbook). For board prep it is a useful stretch: first-year science seen in real patients sticks, and students who keep a short log of the cases they saw have their own clinical vignettes to tie Step 1 material to later.
Burrell's DO students and the COMLEX clock
Burrell's DO students train clinically across family medicine, internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, psychiatry and osteopathic manipulative medicine (Burrell College), which lines up with the core shelf exams and the clinical content of COMLEX Level 2-CE. Because OMM runs through both years of rotations, we keep it in every COMLEX review plan rather than cramming it at the end.
New Mexico's osteopathic board starts its seven-year clock when you pass the first level, so a Burrell student who takes a leave after Level 1 is spending licensing time (FSMB). With 197 residency positions at home in the 2025 Match, the most in family medicine (39) and internal medicine (34), many Burrell students also apply out of state, and some add the USMLE for programs that ask for it (NRMP).
Which board exams New Mexico students take
UNM sends its graduates through the USMLE: Step 1 (pass/fail since January 26, 2022), Step 2 CK after the clerkship year and Step 3 in residency (USMLE).
Burrell students sit COMLEX-USA: Level 1, Level 2-CE and Level 3 (NBOME). Those weighing the USMLE as well can use our COMLEX Level 2 vs USMLE Step 2 CK comparison.
New Mexico licensing rules that affect your exam plan
New Mexico has separate medical and osteopathic boards with different exam rules. The medical board counts six attempts per USMLE Step and allows seven years to finish, or ten for MD/PhD candidates; the osteopathic board sets no limit on COMLEX attempts but wants the series done within seven years of passing the first level (FSMB).
New Mexico Medical board
| Rule | What New Mexico requires |
|---|
| Training before first license | 1 year |
| Exam attempts | 6 attempts per USMLE Step |
| Time limit | 7 years to complete USMLE; 10 years for MD/PhD candidates |
New Mexico Osteopathic board
| Rule | What New Mexico requires |
|---|
| Training before first license | 1 year |
| Exam attempts | No limit on COMLEX |
| Time limit | Within 7 years of having passed the first level |
Source: FSMB state licensure requirements, checked October 2026; confirm with the board before relying on them.
What New Mexico's rules mean for how you study
- New Mexico's board allows six attempts per USMLE Step, but the USMLE program itself stops at four, so plan around four sittings, not six (FSMB; USMLE eligibility rules).
- The FSMB listing does not say when New Mexico's seven-year USMLE clock starts, so ask the board before you plan a research year or a leave of absence (FSMB).
- For Burrell students the COMLEX clock starts at Level 1, not at graduation, so space Level 2-CE and Level 3 with that in mind (FSMB).
Many New Mexico students rotate, interview or match next door. New Mexico's neighbors on our list: Arizona (2 MD, 2 DO), Colorado (1 MD, 1 DO), Oklahoma (1 MD, 1 DO), Texas (13 MD, 3 DO), Utah (1 MD, 1 DO).
How much New Mexico searches for board prep
On Google Trends, New Mexico ranks 5th of 51 for COMLEX searches over the five years to October 2026, its strongest result, which fits a two-school state where one of the two is a DO college. The USMLE terms sit near the middle (20th for USMLE, 21st for Step 1, 25th for Step 2), and shelf exam is lowest at 31st.
| Search term | New Mexico rank of 51 |
|---|
| USMLE | 20 |
| USMLE Step 1 | 21 |
| USMLE Step 2 | 25 |
| COMLEX | 5 |
| Shelf exam | 31 |
Source: Google Trends, United States, past 5 years, retrieved October 2026; ranks show relative interest, not student numbers.
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