History

The Founding of Wake Forest School of Medicine

Wake Forest Institute, founded in 1834 in the forests of Wake County, North Carolina, was chartered as a college in 1838. The college moved to Winston-Salem in the Carolina Piedmont in 1956 and became a university in 1967. The Wake Forest College Medical School was established in 1902. Two years after its opening, it received approval from the American Medical Association and the Association of American Medical Colleges.

At the time of its opening, this medical school was one of only 11 of the 166 medical schools requiring 2 years of college for entrance. This emphasis on academic and clinical excellence continued through the formative years of the school and through its move to Winston-Salem in 1941.
 
Renamed the Bowman Gray School of Medicine after the benefactor who made the move to Winston-Salem possible, the school became the second 4-year medical school in North Carolina, beginning its association with North Carolina Baptist Hospital at that time.
 
In 1998 the School's name was changed to "Wake Forest School of Medicine" in order to more clearly reflect its relationship to the University.
 
Today, Wake Forest School of Medicine (WFSM) occupies a firm position among the best medical schools in the United States. The desire to teach excellence in clinical medicine, promote strong clinical and basic research, render exemplary patient care, and stress service to the community has continued as an integral part of WFBMC through the tremendous growth that has occurred and is still occurring.