Association of American Medical Colleges
A nonprofit association representing medical schools, teaching hospitals, academic societies, and the academic medicine community in the United States and Canada.
Last updated October 16, 2026
AI crawler reads
No AI crawler has read this profile since Oct 28, 2026.
Overview
The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) is a Washington, D.C.-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization serving the academic medicine community. Established in 1876, it represents medical schools, teaching hospitals and health systems, Veterans Affairs medical centers, and academic and scientific societies. Its work spans medical education, physician workforce planning, biomedical research, health care policy, institutional consulting, professional development, and data publishing. The association is best known to prospective physicians through the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS), and the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). The MCAT is a standardized examination used in medical-school admissions. AMCAS centralizes and processes applications for most participating U.S. medical schools, while ERAS supports electronic applications for residency positions. The AAMC also administers a fee-assistance program for eligible MCAT candidates and publishes admissions and workforce information used by applicants, educators, policymakers, and institutions. Institutionally, the AAMC represents accredited M.D.-granting medical schools in the United States and Canada, hundreds of teaching hospitals and health systems, and numerous academic and scientific societies. Its governance includes a board of directors and three principal member councils: the Council of Deans, the Council of Teaching Hospitals and Health Systems, and the Council of Faculty and Academic Societies. Through these structures, the association serves as a convening body for leaders in medical education, clinical care, research, and academic administration. The organization also produces research and reference material on medical education, health-care delivery, physician supply, medical-school enrollment, faculty compensation, and biomedical research. Its publications include the Medical School Admission Requirements resource, state physician workforce reports, medical-school enrollment surveys, faculty salary reports, and analyses of physician supply and demand. The AAMC publishes Academic Medicine, a peer-reviewed journal focused on education and the academic health professions, and holds or supports forums and events for continuing education and professional development. A major part of the AAMC's historical role has been the development and maintenance of standards for medical education. In partnership with the American Medical Association, it co-sponsors the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), the accrediting body for M.D.-granting medical education programs in the United States and Canada. The association has therefore influenced both the entry pipeline into medicine and the institutional standards governing medical training. In recent years, the AAMC has addressed disability accommodations in admissions testing, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical education and clinical training, health-care workforce shortages, diversity and inclusion, and the historical legacy of medical education. It merged with the Association of Academic Health Centers in 2022, expanding its role among academic health-center organizations. The AAMC remains an active nonprofit association rather than a commercial consumer brand, with its principal public-facing offerings consisting of admissions services, examinations, research, data, standards-related work, publications, and professional convening. A significant part of the AAMC's historical role has been setting and maintaining standards in medical education. With the American Medical Association, it co-sponsors the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), the accrediting body for M.D.-granting medical education programs in the United States and Canada. The association thus influences both the pathways into medicine and the institutional standards governing medical training.
History
The Association of American Medical Colleges was created in 1876 at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. Representatives of 22 medical colleges met on June 2 to establish common standards for member institutions. John B. Biddle, Jefferson's dean, became the association's first president. Its early standards addressed the organization and duration of medical curricula, including an initial requirement concerning two terms of study. As American medical education became more formalized, the AAMC strengthened its expectations. By 1905, member schools were expected to provide a four-year curriculum totaling at least 4,000 hours. These efforts placed the association among the institutions shaping the transition toward more structured medical training and helped establish a basis for later accreditation and quality-assurance systems. In 1942, the AAMC joined with the American Medical Association's Council on Medical Education and Hospitals to establish the Liaison Committee on Medical Education. The LCME became the accrediting body for M.D.-granting medical education programs in the United States and Canada. The AAMC's continuing role in LCME sponsorship linked the organization to the institutional standards governing undergraduate medical education. The association later expanded beyond standards-setting. It developed services for applicants, medical schools, residency programs, and academic health institutions. The American Medical College Application Service was first used in 1969 to centralize medical-school applications. The Medical College Admission Test, created in 1928 under an earlier name, became the MCAT in 1948 and developed into the AAMC's principal admissions examination. A revised MCAT launched in 2015 after a broad review led by the 21-member MR5 committee. The revised examination added a section on the psychological, social, and biological foundations of behavior. The Electronic Residency Application Service was established in 1996 to support electronic residency applications by final-year students and graduates. The AAMC also became a major producer of data and research for academic medicine. Its publications have examined physician supply and demand, state-level workforce patterns, medical-school enrollment, faculty compensation, admissions requirements, biomedical research, and conflicts of interest in medicine and medical education. Academic Medicine serves as its peer-reviewed journal. The association's events and professional-development activities provide forums for leaders and personnel across medical schools, teaching hospitals, health systems, and academic societies. Leadership changed in 2006 when Darrell G. Kirch became president and chief executive officer. He served until 2019, when David J. Skorton assumed the role. During this period, the organization addressed changes in admissions testing, disability accommodations, workforce planning, and the relationship between academic medicine and public health. In 2015, it changed how documented testing accommodations were disclosed to medical schools, ending the use of an asterisk on score reports for accommodated examinees. The COVID-19 pandemic created operational and educational challenges. In 2020, the AAMC created a clinical guidance database covering subjects such as infection control, emergency departments, inpatient care, ambulatory care, serious-illness communication, mental health, and special populations. It also recommended temporarily limiting medical students' direct patient contact because of safety concerns. The continuation of in-person MCAT administration drew criticism during the pandemic; the association later stated that testing resumed only after safety procedures were put in place. The organization also reassessed historical commemorations. In 2020, it removed Abraham Flexner's name from an annual award, referring to racist and sexist content in the 1910 report associated with his legacy. That explanation and the decision were challenged, making the episode part of wider debates about the history of medical education and institutional recognition. In January 2022, the AAMC and the Association of Academic Health Centers approved a merger agreement. The Association of Academic Health Centers joined the AAMC on April 1, 2022. The combination broadened the AAMC's representation of academic health centers and related organizations. Today, the AAMC operates as a nonprofit membership association whose activities combine advocacy and representation with admissions infrastructure, accreditation-related partnership, professional services, research, data, publications, and education for the academic medicine community.
- 2022
Association of Academic Health Centers joins AAMC
[1]A merger agreement approved in January took effect on April 1, bringing the Association of Academic Health Centers into the AAMC.
- 2015
Revised MCAT launched
[1]A redesigned MCAT introduced a Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior section.
- 1996
ERAS established
[1]The AAMC established the Electronic Residency Application Service for electronic residency applications.
- 1969
AMCAS introduced
[1]The American Medical College Application Service was first used by applicants to medical schools.
- 1942
LCME formed with the American Medical Association
[1]The AAMC and the AMA's Council on Medical Education and Hospitals formed the Liaison Committee on Medical Education.
- 1928
Medical admissions examination established
[1]The examination that later became the MCAT was created under the name Scholastic Aptitude Test for Medical Students.
- 1905
Four-year curriculum standard
[1]The association expanded its standards to require a four-year medical curriculum totaling at least 4,000 hours.
- 1876
Association founded
[1]Representatives of 22 medical colleges met at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia and formed the association to establish standards for member schools.
Products and positioning
A national association and infrastructure provider for academic medicine, combining representation, standards-related work, admissions services, workforce intelligence, research, data publishing, and professional development.
Admissions examination · 1928
Medical College Admission Test
The MCAT is the AAMC-administered standardized examination used in the admissions process for medical school. It originated in 1928 under a different name and was renamed in 1948. A redesigned version introduced in 2015 added content assessing psychological, social, and biological foundations of behavior. The AAMC also provides examination information and a fee-assistance program for eligible candidates.
Application-processing service · 1969
American Medical College Application Service
AMCAS is a centralized application-processing service led by the AAMC. It allows applicants to submit information for participating medical schools through a common process. The service was first used in 1969 and is used by most participating U.S. medical schools.
Residency application service · 1996
Electronic Residency Application Service
ERAS supports electronic applications for residency positions by final-year medical students and graduates. It was developed by the AAMC to replace or reduce reliance on paper-based application processes and has been part of the residency application infrastructure since 1996.
Admissions reference publication
Medical School Admission Requirements
MSAR is an AAMC admissions reference resource describing medical schools and presenting information such as entering-class academic statistics. Its paid-access model has drawn criticism from applicants and observers who argue that essential admissions information should be more broadly accessible.
Peer-reviewed journal
Academic Medicine
Academic Medicine is the AAMC's peer-reviewed journal covering medical education, academic health institutions, faculty development, research, and related health-professions topics.
Marketing campaigns
- 2020COVID-19 clinical guidance resources
United States · Canada
The AAMC assembled a database of treatment and management guidance for clinicians during the COVID-19 pandemic, organized around infection control, emergency care, inpatient and ambulatory settings, serious-illness communication, mental health, and special populations.
Outcome. The resource provided a centralized clinical information framework while health systems and medical schools responded to the pandemic.
Brand decisions
2022
Merger with the Association of Academic Health CentersM&ABackground
The AAMC and the Association of Academic Health Centers sought to consolidate representation and services for academic health-center organizations.
Action taken
The organizations approved a merger agreement in January, and the Association of Academic Health Centers joined the AAMC on April 1.
Aftermath
The AAMC expanded its organizational scope to include the former association's academic health-center constituency.
2020
Temporary limitation of medical-student patient contactStrategyBackground
The COVID-19 pandemic created safety concerns for learners, patients, and clinical staff in hospitals and other care settings.
Action taken
The AAMC recommended that medical schools temporarily suspend students' direct patient contact.
Aftermath
The recommendation reflected the disruption of clinical education during the early pandemic response.
2020
Removal of Abraham Flexner's name from an annual awardOtherBackground
The AAMC reassessed the historical legacy of Abraham Flexner and his 1910 medical-education report.
Action taken
It removed Flexner's name from an annual award, citing racist and sexist statements in the report's legacy.
Aftermath
The rationale and decision were challenged, contributing to broader debate over historical recognition in medical education.
2015
End accommodation markers on MCAT score reportsStrategyBackground
Previously, score reports for examinees who received documented disability accommodations carried an asterisk indicating that accommodations had been granted, although the specific disability and accommodation were not disclosed.
Action taken
The AAMC announced that accommodated examinees would no longer have the marker attached to score reports sent to medical schools.
Aftermath
The change reduced disclosure of accommodation status in the medical-school admissions process.
2015
Launch of the redesigned MCATGeneration changeBackground
The AAMC conducted a broad review of the examination through the 21-member MR5 committee, involving medical educators, admissions personnel, faculty, advisers, a medical student, and a resident physician.
Action taken
The association introduced a new MCAT format that added a Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior section.
Aftermath
The examination expanded its coverage beyond traditional natural-science preparation to include behavioral and social science foundations relevant to medicine.
Sources1 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/association-of-american-medical-colleges · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled