UM Medical School

Admission Requirements
Each University of Michigan Medical School applicant must have completed:

International Applicants
Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents of the United States. Permanent residents and U.S. citizens who did not attend U.S. or Canadian schools should complete at least one year, and preferably two, in residence at an accredited college in North America. All previous academic credits must be validated by the accredited college. The complete technical standards and key deadlines for admissions are also available.

Students who have been previously enrolled in a medical school program leading to the M.D. degree must be in good standing at that institution in order to receive even initial consideration for admission to the UM Medical School as a first year student.

Subject Requirements
Following are the subject requirements for matriculation into medical school. Grades below "C" will not be accepted in any of the following required courses:

Chemistry: 8 semester hours (including laboratory work). General inorganic and organic chemistry, with at least three hours of laboratory work, are required. Work in qualitative analysis, quantitative analysis, and physical chemistry is acceptable.

Biochemistry: 3 semester hours. A general biochemistry course is required. It should include the topics of pH and dissociation; structure and chemistry of amino acids, peptides, sugars, fats and nucleic acids; kinetics; thermodynamics; and subcellular structure and function. Students should also have been introduced to the topics of enzymology, carbohydrate metabolism, biological oxidation, and molecular biology. Laboratory work in biochemistry is not required.

Biology: 6 semester hours (including laboratory work). This requirement may be satisfied by six semester hours in either general biology or zoology, or by courses of three semester hours each in zoology and botany, but not botany alone. Some exposure to genetics is recommended.

Non-science subjects: 18 semester hours. At least 18 semester hours, including the six semester hours of English Composition and Literature noted above must be in subjects other than physical, chemical, biological sciences, or math.

The above list indicates minimum requirements but it should not be inferred that admission is probable for any applicant who meets them.

Since the many fields of medicine offer opportunities for those talented in both the humanities and the sciences, students should allow personal interests to dictate their choice of undergraduate major. In general, the study of a few subjects in depth is recommended. We also recommend courses in genetics and cell biology, as these topics contribute to preparation for the Medical School curriculum.

Application Process
The UM Medical School participates in the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS). Individuals interested in applying to the University of Michigan Medical School should obtain an application from their premedical counselor or from AMCAS. The AMCAS address is:

Return the completed application directly to AMCAS before November 15. AMCAS will forward applications to our Medical School Admissions Office. Upon receipt of the completed application from AMCAS, the Admissions Office will forward further instructions to the applicant.

Applications may be filed on the basis of work completed, plus work in progress that will be completed before the start of medical school. Your official scores on the Medical College Admission Test will be reported to the medical schools you have designated.

It is the responsibility of the applicant to insure that the application is complete and that all required and requested information is forwarded to the Admissions Office. The UM Medical School notifies all applicants when their applications are received.

Admissions Committee
After a preliminary screening of credentials, interviews with those applicants who are being seriously considered for admission are scheduled. This personal contact affords the interviewers an opportunity to explore the materials already in hand, and also permits the candidate to further support the application, and to ask questions about the Medical School.

The Admissions Committee, composed of Medical School faculty and students, strives to identify the best potential physicians from among the thousands of applications received each year.

All students applying for admission are considered on the basis of individual qualifications. Attributes evaluated include:

The academic record and Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) furnish an estimate of academic preparedness. The less tangible qualities of motivation, character, and personal fitness are judged from activities, letters of recommendation, personal statement, and the interview.

All interviews are at the invitation of the Medical School. Where considerations of time and distance make an interview in Ann Arbor impractical, other arrangements may be made. No student is accepted without an interview. The Medical School reserves the right to close the file on any application without an interview and solely on the basis of credentials submitted.

The Admissions Committee welcomes all information that will assist in the selection of those applicants best suited to become physicians.

If Accepted
A student offered a position in the next entering class is required to accept or decline the offer within a specified period, by returning official forms to the Admissions Office. No enrollment deposit is required until May of the entering year. Accepted applicants are given financial aid information and forms in January, and a packet of housing, immunization, and other information in early May. Deferrals may be granted at the discretion of the Assistant Dean for Admissions. Individuals who have been given alternate status may be offered a spot in the class at any time there is a vacancy, until the first day of orientation in mid-August.

Matriculation into the Medical School occurs only after the student has satisfactorily completed all requirements for admission and has submitted an official copy of his/her final undergraduate transcript with degree posted.

Because of the integration of clinical content with basic sciences in our curriculum, there is no provision for advanced placement. Students who have previously taken graduate level or medical school courses are not exempted from enrolling as full-time students in all required course work. Occasional exceptions may be made at the discretion of the curriculum director.

The University of Michigan Medical School does not accept any transfer students from other medical schools.

Combined Degree Program

MD/MPH
A number of students each year choose to pursue the Master of Public Health degree. The School of Public Health at Michigan is rated one of the best in the country. Programs of study include Biostatistics, Environmental and Industrial Health, Epidemiology, Health Behavior and Health Education, and Health Management and Policy.

Typically, medical students apply to the School of Public Health after they have arrived in Ann Arbor and begun medical studies. They usually take a leave of absence from medical school after the second year, enrolling for a year of public health courses. They return for the final two years of clinical work in medicine, and usually complete all requirements for the Master of Public Health degree and the MD within five years.

Inquiries can be addressed to: University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, or obtain more information at the web page address: http://www.sph.umich.edu/

MD/MBA
The goal of the University of Michigan MD/MBA Combined Degree Program is to provide opportunities for students to explore and integrate complementary interests and career goals that combine medicine and business. The MD/MBA Program is a five-year integrated program. Students accepted into the Program will spend their first three years in Medical School, completing the M1, M2, and M3 course work. These students will then matriculate in the Business School to complete the full first year MBA course load as their fourth program year, and complete an MBA summer internship between the fourth and fifth program years. In the fifth year, students will spend one semester completing the MD requirements, and the other semester completing the MBA requirements.

Although most students will apply to the MBA program during the M3 year, prospective medical students may indicate to the Medical School's Admissions Office their intent to seek the MBA degree. Admission to the MD/MBA Program is highly competitive and is not automatic. Applicants are expected to have demonstrated outstanding academic achievement and professionalism in Medical School. Applicants must receive Medical School endorsement for admission to the MD/MBA Program through the Clinical Academic Review Board. This will include rigorous review of the applicant's overall medical school performance, personal statement, and any other relevant materials.

Students must also formally apply for the Business School's Decision II Deadline (January) by completing the standard MBA application (http://www.bus.umich.edu/apply) and fulfilling all listed requirements, including the GMAT exam, essays, letters of recommendation, and transcripts. Students are encouraged to set up an interview through the Business School Admissions Office. Business School officers have been advised that Medical School students will be applying for the Decision II deadline and they will give these applicants full consideration.

For additional program information, contact Kathleen Atkins, atkinsk@umich.edu

MD/JD and Other Combined Degrees
At this time, there are no other formal combined degree programs. However, the medical school provides flexibility for students who wish to combine their education with additional courses or a degree program in many fields.

MD/Ph.D. (MEDICAL SCIENTIST TRAINING PROGRAM)
The Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) is a joint effort of the University of Michigan graduate and medical schools to provide a superb and balanced training in science and medicine. The MSTP, which is open to citizens or permanent residents of the United States, attracts excellent students who are committed to a career in biomedical research.

The MSTP curriculum generally requires seven to eight full calendar years. Typically, MSTP fellows begin with the twenty month Pre-Clinical Phase in the curriculum for the M.D. degree, additional graduate coursework in biological chemistry or other areas, and laboratory rotations in the summers. All fellows must pass the USMLE Step 1 (medical licensure) exam before becoming full-time graduate students. In the Graduate Phase, they complete the requirements for Ph.D. candidacy including preliminary examinations, thesis research, and a written dissertation. After defense of the dissertation, fellows return to the MD curriculum to take the Clinical Phase of their education, including all required clerkships, a subinternship, electives and the USMLE Step 2 examination. In recognition of the interdependency of the degrees, the MD and Ph.D. degrees are conferred by the University only after completion of both.

Many doctoral programs are available to students, including
Bioinformatics, Biological Chemistry, Biophysics, Cell and Developmental Biology, Cellular and Molecular Biology, Chemical Biology, Human Genetics, Immunology, Microbiology and Immunology, Molecular and Integrative Physiology, Neuroscience, Pathology, Pharmacology, and closely related programs such as Biomedical Engineering and Medicinal Chemistry. Entering MSTP fellows are not required to choose a doctoral field until midway through the second year.

MSTP fellows receive full tuition support, health insurance and an annual stipend. Ten to twelve students are admitted to the program each year. For more information, please contact:

Pre-Matriculation Program
The UM Medical School invites selected incoming first-year students to participate in a six-week summer pre-matriculation program designed to help them enhance their Medical School academic and study skills, to introduce them to the Medical School course work and faculty, and to acquaint them with academic and personal support services.

There are introductory courses in Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB) and Anatomy (including Embryology), cooperative learning seminars for refining learning skills, and a comprehensive program of study skills including time management, note taking, memorization and self-motivation. Small-group discussions introduce students to personal development issues such as communication styles, self-awareness and sensitivity to others, and leadership skills.

How many letters of recommendation are needed and who should write them?
Letters of recommendation are a significant part of your application, and you should spend some effort on this. Things to consider include, 1) how well the faculty member knows you; 2) the rank of the faculty member; 3) the course taken. We require three letters and prefer one from a science faculty member, one from a non-science faculty member, and one from another recommender of your choice. Letters from friends of the family, no matter how important or well known they might be, carry less weight than you might think! You may send additional letters if you want. Your recommenders should be individuals who can assess your personal qualities (such as work ethic, reliability, communication skills, leadership, compassion, and so on).

I don't have the chance to get to know a faculty member because of the size of my class. Can I get a letter from the graduate student instructor?
Yes, but this is not preferred. We strongly recommend that you work at getting to know an experienced faculty member (Associate Professor or Professor) so that they can write an informed letter. Doing an independent research project, or taking seminar type classes are some of the best ways to let a faculty member get to know you. If you have no choice but to get a letter from the GSI be sure to have the faculty member countersign or endorse the recommendation. We suggest that no more than one letter be from a GSI.

What if I don’t know anyone who can provide the "non-science" letter?
We prefer that you provide the non-science faculty letter as requested, however we recognize that in some cases such as the applicant who has been out of school for a number of years, getting such a letter may not be feasible. A substitution may be requested from the Admissions Office for any particular type of recommendation letter.

What is the best time to take the MCATs?
The best time to take the MCAT is when you are well prepared, both in terms of college courses taken and time to study/prepare for the MCAT itself. That said, although you may be better prepared for the August MCAT (time to study over the summer), August results will not arrive here until mid to late October, which puts you at a disadvantage in terms of competing for an interview spot. Clearly, scores on MCATs reflect knowledge, not just intelligence, so if you have not taken your chemistry or biology courses, you will need to do a lot of independent work to be adequately prepared.

Do I absolutely need to take 8 semester hours of inorganic chemistry and lab? What if I have fewer credit hours but more lab work? What if I have taken chemical engineering courses instead?
Our requirements for science courses are in place because we want to be sure you have the foundation of chemistry, biology, and physics that you will need as you begin medical school. Even though an advisor or counselor tells you that you "have" to have a particular course, our viewpoint on the issue is perhaps more flexible. It is the content that is important to us, and less so the actual number of credit hours. Because most students apply to more than one medical school, it is usually best to take the full two semesters of general (inorganic) chemistry, two of organic chemistry, and two of physics. Actual credit hours may vary somewhat depending on the school offerings. However, you may have a particular situation that warrants interpretation by the Admissions Office--feel free to call us to consult.

Can I substitute something else for the Biochemistry requirement?
No, we require the equivalent of a basic biochemistry course, once again, because we do not cover this information in our medical school course. Students without a strong background in biochemistry will find the first year of medical school very challenging. [If you believe that all the biochemistry topics we require have been covered in your biology or chemistry coursework, you may provide evidence of that for our evaluation at the time of the interview.]

Do we accept AP or CLEP Credits?
Yes, AP credits may be used to meet our requirements, however we strongly recommend that you take some of your biology and chemistry credits while in college.

Can I use another class for the English Composition requirement?
We require two English courses, which can be composition or literature. If you have taken a course such as "Writing for Scientists", this is an acceptable substitute for one of them. You may call the Admissions Office to consult about your particular situation if you need guidance.

Is math required?
The University of Michigan does not have a math prerequisite requirement. Some medical schools do, however.

Can I apply to medical school if I don’t have all my requirements finished?
Yes, as long as you have a plan to complete them by the time you matriculate.

Do I need a college degree to apply to medical school?
No, but almost all admitted students have obtained one (or its equivalent from a foreign country).

How many people apply to UM and how many applicants get interviews?
We usually have about 5,000 applicants. We will interview approximately 600 of them.

How many students from outside of Michigan do you take?
Our aim is that about half the class or more will be made up of non-Michigan residents. The entering class is very diverse.