The medical school at Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins University will soon be free to nearly all students after a $1bn donation from the alumnus, philanthropist and politician Michael Bloomberg.
Beginning in the fall term of 2024, the former New York City mayor’s foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, will cover 100% of tuition for medical students whose families earn less than $300,000, the organization announced on Monday. And for those who earn less than $175,000, all living expenses and fees will also be covered.
Bloomberg obtained his undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from Johns Hopkins in 1964.
In a statement, Bloomberg said: “As the US struggles to recover from a disturbing decline in life expectancy, our country faces a serious shortage of doctors, nurses and public health professionals – and yet, the high cost of medical, nursing and graduate school too often bars students from enrolling.
“By reducing the financial barriers to these essential fields, we can free more students to pursue careers they’re passionate about – and enable them to serve more of the families and communities who need them the most.”
The co-founder of the Bloomberg media company previously donated $1.8bn to the university in 2018 for undergraduate financial aid, a gift which Johns Hopkins president Ron Daniels called “historic”.
“Extraordinary talent exists in every community across America, a fact borne out by the transformative impact of Mike Bloomberg’s historic gift for financial aid to Hopkins undergraduates six years ago that dramatically expanded the breadth of experience and accomplishment of our student body,” Daniels said.
“Removing financial barriers to individual opportunity fuels excellence, innovation and discoveries that redound to the benefit of society.”
Other medical schools have also seen generous donations in recent years. The Albert Einstein College of medicine in the Bronx announced in March that all medical students would receive free tuition in perpetuity after a $1bn donation from the longtime professor Ruth Gottesman.
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Last year, New York University’s Long Island School of Medicine received a $200m donation in 2023 from Kenneth and Elaine Langone to support the school’s full-tuition scholarships for the three-year accelerated medical doctorate program.
Bloomberg’s most recent gift will also increase financial aid for students at the Johns Hopkins school of nursing as well as the Bloomberg School of Public Health.