Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine Commencement 2024: First Graduating Class of Over 100 for NJ’s Newest Medical School

One hundred and two students from the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine have received their medical degrees - and are now poised to start their medical careers in residencies at top programs across the country. 

The medical students came from the 2020 cohort of the medical school (75 students) who graduated after four years; and also the 2021 cohort (27 students), who completed their education in three years. 

Since graduating the inaugural class of 18 doctors in 2021, the school’s classes have grown annually alongside admissions, and this is the first time the graduate total for one class has been over 100. 

“The Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine was founded upon great ambition and ideals,’’said Robert C. Garrett, FACHE, CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health. “Under its able leadership, it is changing the way that doctors are training - and what medicine can ultimately be.”

“The school is truly reaching its stride,” said Jeffrey Boscamp, M.D., dean and president of the School. “Our curriculum is training the best doctors for the 21st century, and our institution is making a difference across the landscape. We are proud of what we’re doing, and we are excited about all our ongoing work.”

The commencement’s keynote was delivered by Steve Pemberton, an author, philanthropist, speaker, and senior-level executive for the likes of Monster.com, Walgreens Boots Alliance, and Workhuman. 

Roughly half of the Class of 2024 (50 students) will train in New Jersey for the first year of residency. Of these, 36 of the students matched into a Hackensack Meridian Health program. 

Residencies where this class has matched include: locations across the Hackensack Meridian Health network; Stanford Health Care; New York University Langone; Yale - New Haven Hospital; Montefiore Medical Center/Einstein; Thomas Jefferson University; Brown University/Rhode Island Hospital; New York Presbyterian, Weill Cornell Medical Center; and many other top institutions. 

The specialties the students matched into include: internal medicine (29), pediatrics (12), radiology - diagnostic (eight), surgery - preliminary (seven), and neurology, emergency medicine, and family medicine (six apiece).  

Applications and enrollments have increased since its founding. The School of Medicine’s inaugural class in 2018 included 60 students. The latest incoming class numbers more than 160, admitted from greater than 6,000 applicants.