Since its founding, BGS has more than doubled in size and the areas of study have changed as new fields and subfields have arisen in biomedical science. The current program is organized into seven graduate groups: Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Cell and Molecular Biology, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Genomics and Computational Biology, Immunology, Neuroscience, and Pharmacological Sciences. Students are trained in the fundamentals of cell biology, biochemistry and molecular biology, as well as their chosen discipline. More recently, new programs have been introduced to the graduate curriculum, one funded by an award from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute provides PhD students with a background in human biology and physiology, the other trains students interested in infectious disease or cancer biology in Public Health. Both programs will train students for future research that bridges basic science and clinical disciplines. Students accepted to Biomedical Graduate Studies' PhD programs receive a fully funded fellowship, including tuition, fees, health insurance, and a competitive stipend-regardless of financial need. Funds for these fellowships are derived from reserves provided by the School of Medicine and the University Provost, NIH training grants and individual fellowships, research grants, and other funding sources.

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PENN Medicine is a $2.9 billion enterprise dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and high-quality patient care. PENN Medicine consists of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System.

Penn's School of Medicine is ranked #2 in the nation for receipt of NIH research funds; and ranked #3 in the nation in U.S.News & World Report's most recent ranking of top research-oriented medical schools. Supporting 1,400 fulltime faculty and 700 students, the School of Medicine is recognized worldwide for its superior education and training of the next generation of physician-scientists and leaders of academic medicine.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System includes three hospitals, all of which have received numerous national patient-care honors [Hospital of theUniversity of Pennsylvania; Pennsylvania Hospital, the nation's first hospital; and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center]; a faculty practice plan; a primary-care provider network; two multispecialty satellite facilities; and home care and hospice.