The University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine is a 4-year MD-granting program that offers students a number of ways to explore their interests, from rural health to teaching, while receiving their medical education. The Carver College of Medicine has a curriculum based on innovation, where the scientific content is taught in the context of mechanisms of health. Students have early clinical experience integrated with the scientific curriculum. The curriculum is individualized such that students have a great deal of choice in the last three semesters. The College of Medicine also assigns both medical students and PA students to a learning community for the entire duration of medical school.