MD Admissions

Module 5: Electives, Selectives, and Scholarly Pursuit — Individualize Your Education

Final 16 months +

• A required 4 week sub-internship allows increased responsibility for patient care in general medicine, general pediatrics, emergency medicine, or family medicine
• Four advanced Penn electives: 16 weeks
• Two other electives: 8 weeks which can include away US approved electives
• Scholarly activity with a faculty member for a minimum of 12 weeks that requires students to design and undertake a research project in the lab, clinic, or community and present their work in a formal paper
• Students earning either an MD/PhD or dual degree (MD/MS) or doing year out research fulfill the Scholarly Pursuit requirement
• Frontiers in Medical Sciences: 4 weeks that include seminars, lasting one or two weeks, each emphasizing "translational medicine" and bioethics
• Discipline-based "boot camp" the final month of medical school to prepare for transition into residency
• Twenty-four weeks of flexible and open time to customize your educational experience, career goals, and personal life
• USMLE Step 1, 2CK, 2CS taken in Module 5
• Grading in Honors/High Pass/Pass/Fail

The flexible and open time allows students to individualize their educational experience to pursue a certificate, specific dual degrees, or a short-term project in global health; preventive, community, or public health medicine; or health policy and planning.

Module 6: Professionalism and Humanism

August, Year 1 — May, Year 4
4-year continuum

• Structured experiences to promote humanism, multiculturalism and professionalism, the cultivation of medical collegiality and the doctor-patient relationship
• Shadowing in the clinical setting with Master Clinicians and role models throughout the four years
• Grading is Pass/Fail