The University of Missouri School of Medicine's Doctor of Medicine program rests on patient-based learning, a style of medical education largely pioneered at MU in which students work through real clinical cases to build skills individually and in interdisciplinary teams. Students begin with two years of small-group, case-based learning, advance through third-year core clerkships across primary-care, hospital-based, and surgical specialties, and finish with fourth-year selectives and electives.

The differentiation is case-based pedagogy in place of department- and discipline-based lecture courses, paired with early clinical experiences that prepare students to deliver care improving the health of individuals and communities. It serves medical students, who train at the Columbia campus and may complete their final two years at the school's Springfield clinical campus.