A record 1,901 applicants are competing for 62 student slots next fall at the University of Hawai'i John A. Burns School of Medicine.

The school's state-of-the-art facilities at Kaka'ako, which opened in 2005, and a curriculum centered on "problem-based learning" are gaining notice outside the state and attracting applicants, said admissions chairman Satoru Izutsu.

The curriculum, offered at only a handful of U.S. medical schools, emphasizes small-group instruction with early contact with patients, community-based learning experiences, and opportunities for service learning. The program has been in place since 1989.

"Applicants look at our curriculum, and they are really enthralled. Students work in small groups of five with a tutor, and they are working with actual health problems from the first day of school," Izutsu said.

The previous high was the 1,629 applications received for fall 2006. Out of the 1,901 applicants for the next academic year, 223 are Hawai'i residents and 1,678 are nonresidents. Rules allow for only six nonresident slots. As an institution supported by Hawai'i taxpayers, one of the UH medical school's missions is "to give young people in Hawai'i the opportunity to become physicians," Izutsu said.

The total number of openings is limited by how many students local hospitals can accommodate for two years of clinical training, which comes after two years of classes at the medical school.

Tuition for the 2007-08 year will be $20,448 for residents and $40,344 for nonresidents. Izutsu said that places UH in the middle tuition range for medical schools.

The application deadline was Dec. 1, and candidates will be notified if they are accepted beginning in mid-April, Izutsu said.

Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com.