Despite the fact that there was no medical university in Salzburg for almost two centuries, the teaching of medicine is now firmly embedded in its history. After 40 years of unsuccessful attempts to found a state medical university, the necessary parameters for establishing a private medical university were created through the “Accreditation Act" in 1999.

As soon as the International Accreditation Council and the Federal Ministry for Education, Science and Culture issued the accreditation to the "Paracelsus Medical University" in November 2002, university life was taken up in September 2003. Salzburg is now home to Austria’s first and Europe's second medical university in private ownership that offers the study of human medicine. The University’s namesake Paracelsus (1493-1541) was a pioneer of modern medicine and organic chemistry. Partner and role model of the University is the renowned Mayo Medical School (Minnesota, USA), which is an integral part of the Mayo Clinic, the largest private nonprofit hospital in the United States.