Medical University of South Carolina Program

Program Identity & Fit

MUSC's Neurosurgery Residency is a seven-year, university-based academic program rooted in a single tertiary/quaternary hospital system - Medical University Hospital, MUSC Children's Hospital, and the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center - offering broad subspecialty exposure across skull-base, cerebrovascular, neuro-oncology, epilepsy, spinal, functional/stereotactic, and neuroendovascular neurosurgery from PGY1 onward. The program builds in a dedicated PGY6 year for either a self-directed research project (basic or clinical, with structured faculty mentorship) or an enfolded fellowship such as spine or endovascular, signaling an expectation that residents pursue focused academic or subspecialty development mid-training. Institutional infrastructure - a NCI-designated cancer center, dedicated Brain Research Institute, and top-quartile NIH-funded departments - supports resident scholarship, and only two PGY1 positions are filled annually, producing a small, tightly integrated resident cohort ("Wolf Pack") with graduated autonomy through chief years at three distinct clinical sites (academic, pediatric, VA). The program explicitly emphasizes teamwork, resident-led wellness/education initiatives, and faculty investment in individualized clinical and research development.