ATHENS, GA — The University of Georgia’s new School of Medicine has reached a major milestone as it has been granted preliminary accreditation.

The approval allows UGA to begin recruiting and admitting its first class of medical students. Applications for the fall 2026 class are expected to open soon.

Shelley Nuss, dean of the UGA School of Medicine, says the $100 million Medical Education and Research Facility is scheduled for completion in December on UGA’s Health Sciences Campus.

“This is an historic milestone for the University of Georgia and Georgia as a whole in addressing some of the position shortages that are just ongoing,” she said.