The University of Mississippi Medical Center, located in Jackson, is the state's only academic health science center. UMMC encompasses six health science schools: medicine, nursing, dentistry, health related professions, graduate studies and pharmacy. (The School of Pharmacy is headquartered on the Oxford campus.) Enrollment in all programs is more than 2,500 students.

The Medical Center's missions are to improve the lives of Mississippians by educating tomorrow's health care professionals, by conducting health sciences research, and by providing cutting edge patient care. A major goal of the Medical Center is the elimination of differences in health status of Mississippians based on race, geography, income or social status.