Howard University Program

Program Identity & Fit

Howard University Hospital's Pathology program is a small, four-year combined AP/CP training track based at a historically Black, 200-bed Level 1 trauma teaching hospital in Washington, DC, with outsourced subspecialty rotations (Quest Diagnostics, VA Medical Center, Children's National, NIH Clinical Center, and forensic pathology at DC and Baltimore medical examiner offices) filling gaps not covered by the home institution's case volume. The program explicitly trains residents for academic medicine, independent practice, or community practice, and while protected research time and an optional one-month research elective exist, research is offered rather than woven into a mandatory scholarly track. Its small size (2 first-year, 8 total positions, 9 faculty) is framed as a deliberate strength enabling close faculty-resident interaction, and the program highlights "elite fellowship acceptance" as an outcome marker despite its modest scale. The department signals it values well-rounded communicators and demonstrated commitment to pathology over research pedigree or elite academic credentials.