Welcome to the University of Iowa Pediatrics residency.
We are home to a leading academic medical center with a passion for nurturing the best pediatricians! A residency in the Stead Family Department of Pediatrics will give you the training, experience, and mentors to achieve your goals as a doctor.
We are confident you’ll see Iowa has what you are searching for in your training program, including:
- A comprehensive evidence-based curriculum.
- Broad clinical exposure.
- Engaging teaching and mentorship.
- Unparalleled research opportunities
- The chance to build close, lasting relationships with your colleagues.
- A state-of-the-art facility at University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children’s Hospital.
Quick Facts
- Residents accepted each year:
- 15 categorical
- 2 child neurology
- 1 pediatrics & medical genetics and genomics combined program
- 49 total residents
- 2 fourth-year chief residents
- 172 faculty
- >95% board pass rate, achieved by only 7 ACGME-accredited pediatrics programs
- ~50% of graduates pursue subspecialties and half enter practice directly
- No. 1 children's hospital in Iowa
- Iowa's only Level IV NICU, with expansion underway
The Iowa Difference
Ensuring your success is our top priority.
When you join our program, you will find:
- Collaborative residents, fellows, faculty, and health care professionals
- Innovative didactics and broad-based curricular initiatives
- Balanced and tailored clinical experiences
- Personalized mentorship with targeted feedback
Here you’ll have great clinical experiences with lots of flexibility in scheduling, and close relationships with your colleagues and supervisors. We are a community here, and you will be supported.
83%
Say our program is very positive, higher than the national mean, and zero rated neutral or negative
100%
Would definitely or probably choose our program again, higher than the national mean
Discover Your Path to Success
We promise you the ideal balance of ambulatory, inpatient, and individualized experiences, tailored to the career that’s right for you. About half of our graduates go on to primary care pediatrics and about half match into choice fellowships.
In addition to our categorial pediatrics residency, we offer training pathways including fast-track programs, combined residencies and future fellowships.
Our Philosophy
When you join our residency, you'll be a part of an organization dedicated to delivering patient- and family-centered care.
Facility Dogs
Our facility dogs help our pediatric patients reach specific clinical goals and promote healing through animal-assisted interventions. Alongside their handlers, who are child life specialists, these gentle canines support patients through motivation, encouragement, and companionship.
Dance Marathon Pediatric Cancer and Blood Disorders Center
Level 11 is named after the university’s Dance Marathon – a 24-hour dance party raising more than $35 million for kids. The view is especially nice on football Saturdays when 70,000 fans wave to our patients. We are the home to the Iowa Wave, and that sentiment can be felt throughout our city every day of the year. Come wave with us!
Latest News
Iowa boy born at 21 weeks is now the world's most premature baby
Department Honors/Recognition
2025 U.S. News and World Report rankings:
- No.1 children's hospital in Iowa
- No. 19 in neonatology
- No. 33 in pediatric diabetes and endocrinology
- No. 36 in pediatric urology
- No. 38 in pediatric nephrology
- No. 48 in pediatric cancer
- Top 50 in pediatric and adolescent behavioral health
View some of our other distinctions and designations.
Pediatric researchers at the University of Iowa have a long history of breakthrough discoveries in both the clinical and laboratory setting. Explore our research.
