Question 1

How are the best Rheumatology residency programs ranked?

Accepted Answer

MatchPath ranks programs by the MatchPath Program Score — a transparent, objective composite of the teaching hospital's CMS Overall Star Rating (quality), the program's size relative to other Rheumatology programs (ACGME-approved positions), its teaching hospital's NIH research funding (where available), and its accreditation standing. It is not a reputation survey; the exact weights are published and every program shows the signals behind its score.

Question 2

What is the best Rheumatology residency program?

Accepted Answer

By the MatchPath Program Score, University of Pennsylvania Health System currently ranks first among Rheumatology programs. The full ranked list above shows each program's score and the factors behind it, so you can see why.

Question 3

Is this an official residency ranking?

Accepted Answer

No. There is no official ACGME, NRMP, or government ranking of residency programs. The MatchPath Program Score is our own transparent composite of objective, public data (CMS hospital quality, ACGME positions and accreditation) — published so you can see exactly what drives each position. It reflects the teaching hospital's measured quality and the program's scale, not a subjective judgment of the training.

Question 4

Does a program's rank mean it's the right fit for me?

Accepted Answer

Not on its own. The score weighs objective signals every applicant can verify, but fit also depends on your specialty goals, location, IMG-friendliness, visa needs, and salary. Use the ranking as a starting shortlist, then compare programs side by side.

Question 5

How is this different from the Doximity or U.S. News residency rankings?

Accepted Answer

Reputation rankings like Doximity are built from surveys of physicians' opinions. The MatchPath Program Score uses no opinions — only objective, public data (CMS hospital quality, ACGME positions and accreditation), with the weights published and every input shown. You can audit exactly why a Rheumatology program sits where it does.

Question 6

Which of these Rheumatology programs are IMG-friendly?

Accepted Answer

The score itself doesn't factor in IMG acceptance — filter the Rheumatology program list by "IMG-friendly" to rank by reported IMG acceptance rate, then check each program's IMG percentage, visa sponsorship, and Step 2 CK expectation. All of it is free to view.

#	Program	Location	CMS	Score
1	University of Pennsylvania Health System	Philadelphia, PA	5	100
2	NYU Grossman School of Medicine	New York, NY	5	99
3	Mass General Brigham	Boston, MA	5	99
4	University of Colorado School of Medicine	Aurora, CO	5	99
5	University of California (San Francisco) School of Medicine	San Francisco, CA	5	99
6	Stanford Health Care	Palo Alto, CA	5	99
7	University of Utah Health	Salt Lake City, UT	5	95
8	University of North Carolina Hospitals	Chapel Hill, NC	5	95
9	University of Kansas School of Medicine	Kansas City, KS	5	95
10	Mass General Brigham	Boston, MA	5	94
11	University of Michigan	Ann Arbor, MI	4	92
12	UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine/UCLA Medical Center	Los Angeles, CA	4	91
13	Washington University/B-JH/SLCH Consortium	St Louis, MO	4	90
14	Rush University Medical Center	Chicago, IL	5	87
15	University of California (San Diego) Medical Center	La Jolla, CA	5	87
16	Houston Methodist Hospital	Houston, TX	5	86
17	Vanderbilt University Medical Center	Nashville, TN	4	86
18	Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell	Manhasset, NY	4	86
19	Stony Brook Medicine	Stony Brook, NY	4	86
20	McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University	Chicago, IL	5	86
21	Emory University School of Medicine	Atlanta, GA	4	86
22	University of California (Irvine)	Orange, CA	4	86
23	Virginia Mason Franciscan Health	Seattle, WA	5	83
24	St Luke's University Hospital	Bethlehem, PA	5	83
25	New York Presbyterian Hospital	New York, NY	5	83
26	Cedars-Sinai Medical Center	Beverly Hills, CA	5	82
27	MedStar Health Georgetown University	Washington, DC	3	81
28	University of Washington School of Medicine	Seattle, WA	3	80
29	Ohio State University Hospital	Columbus, OH	3	80
30	Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine	Bronx, NY	3	80
31	Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine	Baltimore, MD	3	80
32	Yale-New Haven Hospital	New Haven, CT	3	80
33	University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics	Madison, WI	4	78
34	Cleveland Clinic Foundation	Cleveland, OH	5	78
35	Medical College of Wisconsin Affiliated Hospitals, Inc	Milwaukee, WI	4	77
36	Virginia Commonwealth University Health System	Richmond, VA	4	77
37	University of Virginia Medical Center	Charlottesville, VA	4	77
38	Baylor College of Medicine	Houston, TX	3	77
39	Geisinger Health System	Danville, PA	4	77
40	University of Toledo	Toledo, OH	4	77
41	Dartmouth-Hitchcock/Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital	Lebanon, NH	4	77
42	Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center	Boston, MA	4	77
43	Ochsner Clinic Foundation	New Orleans, LA	4	77
44	University of Kentucky College of Medicine	Lexington, KY	4	77
45	University of Chicago Medical Center	Chicago, IL	4	77
46	University of Florida College of Medicine	Gainesville, FL	4	77
47	Larkin Community Hospital Palm Springs Campus	Hialeah, FL	4	77
48	University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston	Houston, TX	3	76
49	Medical University of South Carolina College of Medicine	Charleston, SC	3	76
50	University of Cincinnati Medical Center Inc.	Cincinnati, OH	3	76

Best Rheumatology Residency Programs

Frequently Asked Questions