Our region's medical education landscape is set for a significant expansion as Temple University announced Thursday it will open a new medical campus in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The AtlantiCare Campus, scheduled to welcome its first students in August 2029, represents a major investment in healthcare education for southern New Jersey communities.
The Lewis Katz School of Medicine has partnered with AtlantiCare, a healthcare provider serving more than a million residents across southern New Jersey, to establish the new campus. This collaboration brings Temple's medical education model to a region that has long needed expanded healthcare training opportunities.
"Both Temple and the Katz School of Medicine are guided by the belief that education and healthcare open doors and transform communities, and that is exactly what we have accomplished in Pennsylvania," wrote President John Fry in an announcement. "With AtlantiCare, we now have the ideal new partner to help us further our impact."
The Atlantic City campus will accommodate 40 students per class cohort, focusing on third- and fourth-year rotation students who will gain hands-on clinical experience in real-world healthcare settings. This practical training component is crucial for developing well-rounded physicians who understand the unique healthcare challenges facing diverse communities.
The expansion comes as Temple continues to grow its medical education footprint beyond its traditional North Philadelphia base. The Lewis Katz School of Medicine currently serves more than 800 medical students across its Health Sciences Center campus in North Philadelphia and its St. Luke's University Health Network campus in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
This isn't Temple's only recent expansion effort. Last February, the university announced plans to establish a medical school in York, Pennsylvania, in partnership with WellSpan Health. That campus is expected to welcome students in Fall 2027, two years ahead of the Atlantic City location.
The strategic expansion into Atlantic City addresses a critical need in southern New Jersey, where access to medical education and healthcare services has historically lagged behind more densely populated areas. By training future physicians in the communities they may ultimately serve, Temple and AtlantiCare are investing in long-term healthcare solutions for the region.
For Atlantic City and surrounding communities, the new campus represents more than just educational infrastructure—it's a commitment to improving healthcare outcomes and creating pathways for local students to pursue medical careers close to home. The partnership between a major academic institution and an established regional healthcare provider creates a model that could benefit both medical education and patient care throughout southern New Jersey.
