School of Medicine

School of Medicine
530-752-2717; http://som.ucdavis.edu

The Doctor of Medicine degree requires the satisfactory completion of a four-year course of study composed of 15 consecutive quarters. Course work is conducted on the Sacramento campus, at the UC Davis Medical Center and in nearby affiliated hospitals.

Preparing for the Study of Medicine

When you apply to the School of Medicine, you must submit the results from the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), so it is recommended that you take the MCAT by the spring before application. Information can be obtained at your undergraduate institution or directly from MCAT Program, Box 4056, Iowa City, IA 52243; (319) 337-1357. To be acceptable for the fall entering class, the MCAT must be taken no later than the previous fall. No scores before August 2004 will be accepted.

Applicants must also meet the following academic requirements:

• Completed at least three years of study in an accredited college or university in the United States or Canada. A minimum of 90 semester hours or 135 quarter units of college-level work is required. Courses in highly specialized fields are acceptable only at the discretion of the medical school.
• Completed satisfactorily before matriculation each of the following courses:

• Demonstrate the potential to perform academically at least as well as the average of the current first year class. This reflects the School of Medicine’s generally higher standards and our emphasis on potential as judged from the application as a whole, including but not limited to MCAT and GPA scores.

For additional information, contact the School of Medicine Admissions Office.

Applying for Admission

Deadline for filing applications for admission to the School of Medicine; November 1

The School of Medicine participates in the centralized American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS). For information on admission to medical school, see the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) at http://www.tomorrowsdoctors.org. You need to submit only one application and one set of official transcripts to AMCAS, regardless of the number of member schools to which you are applying.

Submit the completed application and other required credentials directly to AMCAS for verification, reproduction and immediate distribution to the medical schools you have indicated.

After your AMCAS application has been received by the School of Medicine, the Admissions Office will notify you and may request a secondary application and two letters of recommendation along with a nonrefundable application fee of $60. Send these items directly to the Assistant Dean, Office of Admissions and Outreach, School of Medicine, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616-8661, and not to AMCAS. Recommendations can be in the form of a report by a premedical advisory committee at the college or university where you are enrolled or letters from two faculty members who are familiar enough with you and your abilities to make a meaningful evaluation. We recommend that one letter be from a science instructor and the other from a non-science instructor—three to five letters of recommendation suggested.

Applications are accepted by AMCAS between June 1 and November 1. We strongly recommend that you make an early request for application materials from AMCAS and see that the necessary supporting items reach the Committee as soon as possible after the School of Medicine requests them. The Committee reviews only complete application files and schedules interviews for highly qualified applicants throughout the application period and beyond.

A personal interview is usually required before a place in the first-year class can be offered. However, because of the large number of applicants, it is not possible to interview each one and for this reason interviews are held only at the invitation of the Admissions Committee. Interviews take place at the medical school in order to provide you with first-hand knowledge of programs and facilities and give you the opportunity to meet some of the students.

As decisions are made, letters of acceptance are sent; this can be as early as mid-October and as late as September of the following year.

Applicant Selection. The class entering in the fall will be limited to 93 students selected on the basis of academic achievement, academic promise and personal characteristics. The Admissions Committee uses these criteria to determine if a candidate will be able to complete satisfactorily the requirements of the medical curriculum and become excellent medical practitioners. Factors taken into consideration include scholastic records, Medical College Admission Test performance and reports of teachers, advisers and interviewers with regard to intellectual capacity, motivation, emotional stability and personal dedication.

The majority of openings in the entering class will be awarded to students who are California residents. However, the School of Medicine participates in the program of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) and residents of participating states will be considered as residents for purposes of admission. For more information, write the WICHE at Post Office Drawer P, Boulder, CO 80302.

The School of Medicine selects students for admission with a view to meeting the needs of society, of the medical profession and of the School. Because we live in a pluralistic society, and the educational experience is enhanced by the interaction of students from various backgrounds, the School desires diversity in its student body. This is reflected in the School’s commitment to expand opportunities in medical education for individuals from groups underserved in medicine as the result of socioeconomic disadvantage and to increase the number of physicians practicing in underserved areas. Therefore, the Admissions Committee, composed of individuals from a variety of backgrounds and representative of a broad spectrum of medical sciences, evaluates applicants in terms of all relevant factors. These include academic credentials, with due regard to how they may have been affected by disadvantages experienced by the applicant, such personal traits as character and motivation, experience in the health sciences and/or the community, career objectives, and the ability of the individual to make a positive contribution to society, the profession and the School.

Transfer with Advanced Standing

Currently enrolled students (U.S. citizens or permanent residents) in good standing at an accredited ALLOPATHIC medical school in the United States or Canada may apply for admission to the third year of study. In order to provide the best facilities and clinical resources, however, we must limit the number of students in our clinical clerkships. Therefore, applications for transfer to the third year are considered on a space-available basis.

Deadline for application is April 1 of the year of transfer. Applicants must provide medical school transcripts along with other materials and if accepted, must pass Part I of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) at their current institution. Available spaces may be filled by the Admissions Committee based upon the entire content of an application, or they may request additional information including letters of recommendation and a personal interview. All applicants for transfer must meet the usual requirements for admission, as well as satisfactorily completing the equivalent of two years of study at the medical school. Applicants will be notified of the Admissions Committee’s decision starting April 30.

Program of Study

Doctor of Medicine. The curriculum for the M.D. degree is normally a four-year program that provides comprehensive training for the practice of medicine and provides a blend of basic sciences training and clinical experience. The emphasis during the first two years is on the basic-science foundations of medicine. Medical students are introduced to patient care during their very first quarter of study, reflecting the school’s commitment to the training of highly skilled clinicians. Several volunteer clinics, largely staffed by UC Davis medical students, provide an ideal setting for hands-on clinical experience.

Combined Degree Program. In addition to the Doctor of Medicine degree, the School of Medicine at Davis offers a variety of dual-degree programs through coordination with other graduate groups and divisions. These advanced degrees can couple the M.D. degree with the M.P.H., Ph.D. and M.B.A. that train physicians to meet, respond to and solve the broad diversity of problems and dilemmas facing current and future health care.

Meeting this challenge requires those capable of advancing our biological sciences knowledge base and others who can recognize and solve the ethical, political and humanitarian issues that confront the broad delivery of health care to all. Hence, the field for the Ph.D. in the joint degree program at UC Davis can be any graduate program offered on the Davis campus, extending beyond the traditional biological sciences boundaries, and strongly encouraging candidates to seek degrees in social sciences and humanities. All requirements for both degrees are met in a course of study that usually lasts seven years. To be admitted, and be concurrently enrolled in both degree programs, students must apply for separate admission to both the M.D. and Ph.D. programs and obtain permission of the School of Medicine M.D./Ph.D. Advisory Committee. Funding for two competitive fellowships is awarded annually to students enrolled in the M.D./Ph.D. program.
Advisory Committee. Inquiries about admission to graduate education should be directed to the Dean of Graduate Studies, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616. For more information concerning the combined-degree programs, contact Edward D. Dagang, Office of Admissions, School of Medicine, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616-8661.

Family Nurse Practitioner/Physician Assistant Program. The Family Nurse Practitioner/Physician Assistant (FNP/PA) credential program educates health care professionals to act as members of a health care team and improves the availability of culturally relevant primary health care in underserved populations throughout central and northern California. Enrollment in these courses is limited to students who are enrolled in the FNP/PA program; see Medicine, School of, Department of Family and Community Medicine.

Academic Calendar

The School of Medicine operates on a different schedule from the rest of the campus. A detailed academic calendar may be viewed at http://som.ucdavis.edu.

The program is a continuous four-year academic experience, with the first year commencing in fall quarter. A six-week break is scheduled between the first and second year academic schedule following spring quarter. The second year concludes with a three- to four-week period for preparation for USMLE Step 1 examination. The third and fourth year clinical experiences begin in summer and continue through spring.

With approval, students may extend the first two years over three years and use the additional time to individualize their programs. This alternative time is highly suitable for including research experiences and/or meeting other academic objectives. Flexibility in the third and fourth years also permits alternate scheduling.