Rutgers University/University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Joint Bachelor of Arts/Medical Degree (B.A./M.D.) Program
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 school 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 schools of Rutgers University. Applicants from the Newark and Camden campuses, if admitted, are required to transfer to a school on the New Brunswick 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. However, recommendation is not automatic. 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 semester 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, and must have been in attendance at Rutgers a minimum of one year. Additionally, applicants must have a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.5 by the end of the third semester and sustain it through the end of the fourth. The applicant must have completed, or be in the process of completing by the end of the fourth semester, two semesters of biology with lab, two semesters of general chemistry with lab, two semesters of organic chemistry with lab, one semester of college-level mathematics, and one semester of English. 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 (i.e., two courses of at least 3 or more credits each). Those students
who are admitted to the program without having two semesters of physics, two
semesters of English, and organic chemistry lab must complete these requirements
by the end of the third year of study.
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 program may choose any major available to them at Rutgers-New Brunswick. 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 program with a major in biological sciences is required to take General Biology 01:119:101-102, Genetics 01:447:380, and three approved life sciences electives (3- or 4-credit courses) at Rutgers-New Brunswick. Students who have not taken General Biology I and II at Rutgers University, either because they have been awarded AP biology credit or because they have transferred equivalent courses from another institution, must take Genetics 01:447:380, and four approved life sciences electives (3- or 4-credit courses) at Rutgers-New Brunswick. 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). Students in the
program must meet with advisers at the Medical School and at Rutgers University
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.
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.
For further information on this program, you may contact the Division of Life Sciences, Health Professions Office, Nelson Biology Laboratories, 604 Allison Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854-8082, at 732-445-5667.
