MATCH MADE

357 Rowan University medical students celebrate their residency and specialty assignments.

By Rowan University

March 26^th, 2026

National Match Day: When graduating medical school students are "matched" with the institutions where they will train as residents to complete their graduate medical education. This year, 357 Rowan medical students from both C ooper Medical School of Rowan University and Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine received their residency program placements on March 20, 2026. Of these students, 149 will continue their graduate medical education in New Jersey—a priority for Rowan as it seeks to fulfill vital health care needs in our state.

Since enrolling its first class in 2012, Cooper Medical School of Rowan University has graduated more than 850 medical students to pursue residencies and enter practice across the nation. The majority primarily care for patients, while some serve as clinical faculty and a number conduct and collaborate on biomedical research. Each year’s high percentage of matches is a result of rigorous medical education, individual accomplishment and the extraordinarily strong reputation CMSRU has built in less than 20 years since Rowan partnered with The Cooper Health System to create the school.

Two medical students stand on stage, smiling and holding signs. The man's sign reads — Cooper Medical School of Rowan University

Man in a blue suit smiles while looking at a paper in a crowded ballroom. People hold up phones to take pictures. A balcony with onlookers is in the background. — Cooper Medical School of Rowan University

Three excited women celebrate — Cooper Medical School of Rowan University

Woman hugs person, holding — Cooper Medical School of Rowan University

Young woman smiles, holding a sign reading — Cooper Medical School of Rowan University

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine is New Jersey’s only osteopathic school and the largest medical school in the state, with more than 4,000 alumni since its 1976 founding. Since the University partnered with Virtua Health to create Virtua Health College of Medicine & Life Sciences of Rowan University in 2021, Rowan-Virtua medical students benefit from instruction, clinical practice and research conducted with southern New Jersey’s largest health system. While its graduates match annually at residencies across the nation, the majority live and practice in New Jersey, helping address the critical shortage of physicians in the region.

Four smiling women link arms at the Rowan-Virtua SOM Match Day Celebration. The woman on the left wears a red dress and holds tulips. The others wear cream, navy, and white dresses. — Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine

Cooper Medical School of Rowan University

Three smiling Rowan-Virtua SOM students at Match Day hold — Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine

Rowan-Virtua SOM Match Day: A smiling student hugs another, holding an envelope, in front of a screen displaying — Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine

Medical students at Rowan-Virtua SOM Match Day hold — Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine

Woman and man pin colorful tacks to a board, balloons in background. The title — Cooper Medical School of Rowan University

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Douglass Day 2026

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