The purpose of this joint program is to
permit integration of basic medical sciences into advanced natural
science courses in preparing students for the clinical portion of their
professional education. Specially selected students will obtain
bachelor's and medical degrees in an eight- year program of study taken
at Rutgers University and Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (RWJMS).
Completion of the program in seven years is possible through
accelerated study.
This program is open to all students
enrolled at Rutgers University who are U.S. citizens or permanent
residents of the United States. It is not directly associated with any
one college within the university. Admission is a two-stage and highly
competitive process. In the first stage, undergraduate students are
admitted into the program by an executive committee consisting of
Rutgers and RWJMS faculty. Eligible applicants are sophomores at any of
the undergraduate colleges of Rutgers University. Applicants from the
Newark and Camden campuses, if admitted, are required to transfer to a
college on the New Brunswick/Piscataway campus. The executive committee
reviews applications and selects those students who are deemed most
qualified for the program. The second stage occurs typically after the
fourth year of study. It is the responsibility of the RWJMS Admissions
Committee to review the credentials of students recommended by the
Joint Program Executive Committee. Students who are deemed to have met
the academic and nonacademic standards of the program will be
recommended to the RWJMS Admissions Committee. The purpose of this
second, noncompetitive review is to ascertain that the student has
maintained adequate academic and nonacademic qualities appropriate for
retention in the medical school. It is expected that students will have
grades of A or B (Honors or High Pass) in courses taken at both
universities. The final decision rests with the RWJMS Admissions
Committee. Upon approval by this admissions committee, the student will
be permitted to continue into the fifth year of study and will be
matriculated formally as a candidate for the M.D. degree in RWJMS.
Applicants to the B.A./M.D. program must be in their fourth term at
Rutgers University. Applications will not be accepted until April 1 in
order to allow time for as much information as possible to be
transmitted. Applications will not be accepted after May 25. Decisions
are expected to be made by July 1. Applicants must have completed a
minimum of 40 credits of which 30 credits must be at Rutgers, must have
been in residence at Rutgers a minimum of one year, and must have a
minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.5 by the end of the third
term. The applicant must have completed, or be in the process of
completing by the end of the fourth term, two terms of biology with
lab, two terms of general chemistry with lab, two terms of organic
chemistry with lab, one term of college-level mathematics, and one term
of English. Advanced placement credits and transfer credits are not
considered in the evaluation of college courses taken. Applicants who
have not taken General Biology I and II at Rutgers University, either
because they have been awarded advanced placement biology credits or
because they have transferred equivalent courses from another
institution, must have at least one year of upper-division biology
courses at Rutgers-New Brunswick/Piscataway. The MCAT is not required
for either the first or second stage of admission. An application form
has been developed that allows the student to provide the executive
committee with information it deems useful for its deliberations.
The bachelor's degree will be awarded upon completion of the
undergraduate college and major requirements, usually by end of year
four or five, but no later than the end of year six, before clerkships
begin. Upon satisfactory completion of year eight and all RWJMS
requirements, the student will receive the medical degree.
Students enrolled in the joint program may choose any major available
to them at Rutgers-New Brunswick/ Piscataway. Those students who wish
to pursue a major other than biological sciences, must discuss their
plans with the appropriate department in order to establish the
requirements they need to complete for their major. Except as
stipulated below, students enrolled in the joint program with a major
in biological sciences are expected to fulfill all requirements of the
major.
Although all courses taught at RWJMS are related to
health care and medicine, some are more basic than others and broader
in scope. Those which are the least specialized, like medical
physiology, microbiology, and biochemistry, could be considered for
credit by the undergraduate major. The number of credits, however, is
not directly translated between the two universities; no more than 4
credits per laboratory course and 3 credits per nonlaboratory course
taken at RWJMS may be used toward the bachelor`s degree at Rutgers.
A student enrolled in the joint program with a major in biological
sciences is required to take General Biology 01:119:101-102, Genetics
01:447:380, and three approved biology electives (3- or 4-credit
courses) at Rutgers-New Brunswick/Piscataway. A maximum of 15 credits
from among the following RWJMS courses, each shown with its Rutgers
equivalent credit value, can be accepted toward the biological sciences
major: Systems Histology (2), Gross and Developmental Anatomy (4),
Microbiology and Immunology (4), Physiology (4), Biochemistry (4),
Neuroscience (4), and Cellular and Genetic Mechanisms (4).
A
student may not receive biological sciences credits for RWJMS Systems
Histology and Rutgers Animal Histology 01:146:322; RWJMS Gross Anatomy
and Rutgers Functional Human Anatomy 01:377:213 or Human Anatomy
01:377:424; RWJMS Microbiology and Immunology and Rutgers General
Microbiology (01:447:390 or 11:680:390) or Pathogenic Microbiology
01:447:392 or Immunology 01:146:474; RWJMS Physiology and Rutgers
Systems Physiology 01:146:356, 357; RWJMS Neural Science and Rutgers
Advanced Neurobiology 01:146:445, 446; RWJMS Biochemistry and Rutgers
Introduction to Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 01:694:301, 313 or
Introduction to Biochemistry (11:115:301, 313) or Molecular Biology and
Biochemistry 01: 694:407-408 or General Biochemistry 11:115:403, 404;
RWJMS Cellular and Genetic Mechanisms and Rutgers Advanced Cell Biology
01:146:470 or Topics in Human Genetics 01:447:481.
In addition
to general biology and genetics, students will have to take three
approved life science electives at Rutgers-New Brunswick/Piscataway to
complete the major in biological sciences. It is highly recommended
that students in the joint program meet with an adviser when planning
their elective courses. No more than one independent study/research
course may be applied toward the biological sciences major for students
in the B.A./M.D. program.
