Question 1

How are the best Neurological Surgery 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 Neurological Surgery 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 Neurological Surgery residency program?

Accepted Answer

By the MatchPath Program Score, Stanford Health Care currently ranks first among Neurological Surgery 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 Neurological Surgery program sits where it does.

Question 6

Which of these Neurological Surgery programs are IMG-friendly?

Accepted Answer

The score itself doesn't factor in IMG acceptance — filter the Neurological Surgery 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	Stanford Health Care	Palo Alto, CA	5	100
2	Mass General Brigham	Boston, MA	5	98
3	University of Pennsylvania Health System	Philadelphia, PA	5	97
4	NYU Grossman School of Medicine	New York, NY	5	96
5	Mass General Brigham	Boston, MA	5	96
6	McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University	Chicago, IL	5	96
7	University of California (San Diego) Medical Center	La Jolla, CA	5	96
8	University of California (San Francisco) School of Medicine	San Francisco, CA	5	96
9	Washington University/B-JH/SLCH Consortium	St Louis, MO	4	90
10	Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine	Baltimore, MD	4	90
11	University of Utah Health	Salt Lake City, UT	5	89
12	University of Colorado School of Medicine	Aurora, CO	5	89
13	Medical College of Wisconsin Affiliated Hospitals, Inc	Milwaukee, WI	4	86
14	University of Virginia Medical Center	Charlottesville, VA	4	86
15	Houston Methodist Hospital	Houston, TX	5	86
16	University of Tennessee College of Medicine	Memphis, TN	4	86
17	Vanderbilt University Medical Center	Nashville, TN	4	86
18	Penn State Milton S Hershey Medical Center	Hershey, PA	4	86
19	University of North Carolina Hospitals	Chapel Hill, NC	5	86
20	Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell	Manhasset, NY	4	86
21	New York Presbyterian Hospital	New York, NY	5	86
22	University of Kansas School of Medicine	Kansas City, KS	5	86
23	Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science	Jacksonville, FL	5	86
24	University of Florida College of Medicine	Gainesville, FL	4	86
25	UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine/UCLA Medical Center	Los Angeles, CA	4	86
26	University of Michigan	Ann Arbor, MI	4	85
27	Rush University Medical Center	Chicago, IL	5	82
28	Baylor College of Medicine	Houston, TX	3	81
29	Ohio State University Hospital	Columbus, OH	3	81
30	Cedars-Sinai Medical Center	Los Angeles, CA	5	81
31	Barrow Neurological Institute at St Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center	Phoenix, AZ	3	81
32	University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics	Madison, WI	4	80
33	Cleveland Clinic Foundation	Cleveland, OH	5	79
34	Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University	Philadelphia, PA	3	78
35	Virginia Commonwealth University Health System	Richmond, VA	4	77
36	Carilion Clinic-Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine	Roanoke, VA	4	77
37	University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston	Houston, TX	3	77
38	University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio Joe and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine	San Antonio, TX	3	77
39	Case Western Reserve University/University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center	Cleveland, OH	3	77
40	Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai	New York, NY	3	77
41	Henry Ford Providence Hospital	Southfield, MI	4	77
42	Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center	Boston, MA	4	77
43	University of Kentucky College of Medicine	Lexington, KY	4	77
44	University of Chicago Medical Center	Chicago, IL	4	77
45	Riverside University Health System	Moreno Valley, CA	3	77
46	University of California (Irvine)	Orange, CA	4	77
47	Inova Fairfax Hospital Campus	Falls Church, VA	5	74
48	Corewell Health – Grand Rapids/Michigan State University	Grand Rapids, MI	5	74
49	Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center	Winston-Salem, NC	3	71
50	University of Texas Medical Branch Hospitals	Galveston, TX	3	68

Best Neurological Surgery Residency Programs

Frequently Asked Questions