Question 1

How are the best Nephrology 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 Nephrology 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 Nephrology residency program?

Accepted Answer

By the MatchPath Program Score, University of Pennsylvania Health System currently ranks first among Nephrology 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 Nephrology program sits where it does.

Question 6

Which of these Nephrology programs are IMG-friendly?

Accepted Answer

The score itself doesn't factor in IMG acceptance — filter the Nephrology 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	University of California (San Francisco) School of Medicine	San Francisco, CA	5	99
3	University of Colorado School of Medicine	Aurora, CO	5	98
4	Stanford Health Care	Palo Alto, CA	5	98
5	New York Presbyterian Hospital	New York, NY	5	95
6	McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University	Chicago, IL	5	95
7	University of California (San Diego) Medical Center	San Diego, CA	5	95
8	University of North Carolina Hospitals	Chapel Hill, NC	5	92
9	Vanderbilt University Medical Center	Nashville, TN	4	91
10	Mass General Brigham	Boston, MA	5	91
11	University of Michigan	Ann Arbor, MI	4	89
12	Emory University School of Medicine	Atlanta, GA	4	89
13	Washington University/B-JH/SLCH Consortium	St Louis, MO	4	88
14	Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine	Baltimore, MD	4	88
15	UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine/UCLA Medical Center	Los Angeles, CA	4	88
16	University of Utah Health	Salt Lake City, UT	5	87
17	University of Kansas School of Medicine	Kansas City, KS	5	87
18	University of Florida College of Medicine	Gainesville, FL	4	86
19	Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science	Jacksonville, FL	5	85
20	Virginia Commonwealth University Health System	Richmond, VA	4	83
21	University of Virginia Medical Center	Charlottesville, VA	4	83
22	University of Tennessee College of Medicine	Memphis, TN	4	83
23	Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center	Boston, MA	4	83
24	University of Chicago Medical Center	Chicago, IL	4	83
25	Kaiser Permanente Southern California	Los Angeles, CA	4	83
26	Rush University Medical Center	Chicago, IL	5	82
27	Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai	New York, NY	3	81
28	Yale-New Haven Hospital	New Haven, CT	3	81
29	University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio Joe and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine	San Antonio, TX	3	80
30	University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston	Houston, TX	3	79
31	Medical College of Wisconsin Affiliated Hospitals, Inc	Milwaukee, WI	4	78
32	Stony Brook Medicine	Stony Brook, NY	4	78
33	University of California (Irvine)	Orange, CA	4	78
34	University of Washington School of Medicine	Seattle, WA	3	77
35	Baylor College of Medicine	Houston, TX	3	77
36	Medical University of South Carolina College of Medicine	Charleston, SC	3	77
37	Cleveland Clinic Foundation	Cleveland, OH	5	77
38	Ohio State University Hospital	Columbus, OH	3	77
39	University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics	Madison, WI	4	76
40	Houston Methodist Hospital	Houston, TX	5	76
41	Geisinger Health System	Danville, PA	4	76
42	Ochsner Clinic Foundation	New Orleans, LA	4	76
43	University of Kentucky College of Medicine	Lexington, KY	4	76
44	Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science	Phoenix, AZ	5	76
45	Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University	Philadelphia, PA	3	73
46	Temple University Hospital	Philadelphia, PA	3	73
47	Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell	Great Neck, NY	3	73
48	Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine	Bronx, NY	3	73
49	Boston University Medical Center	Boston, MA	3	73
50	Loyola University Medical Center	Maywood, IL	3	73

Best Nephrology Residency Programs

Frequently Asked Questions