University of Arizona College of Medicine- Tucson Program

Program Identity & Fit

The University of Arizona-Tucson Neurosurgery program is an academic, university-affiliated seven-year integrated residency built around two Tucson institutions (Banner University Medical Center and the Southern Arizona VA), with nine board-certified, fellowship-trained faculty overseeing more than 3,500 surgeries annually. Research is structurally embedded rather than optional: residents complete a dedicated NS-5 research year, must produce two PubMed-indexed publications to graduate, and are tracked against a formal points-based Academic and Service Contributions system spanning service, education and research. Subspecialty strength clusters around spine (complex spine fellowship, cervical arthroplasty, spinal cord injury), functional/stereotactic neurosurgery and neuromodulation (DBS, spinal cord stimulation, active NIH- and industry-sponsored trials), and neuro-oncology/glioblastoma genetics, with in-house post-residency fellowships in Complex Spine and Stereotactic/Functional Neurosurgery signaling an academic subspecialization pipeline. The program explicitly frames its NS-7 transition year around enfolded fellowship opportunities, indicating that career preparation is oriented toward subspecialty academic practice rather than general community neurosurgery.