Rutgers University/University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-New Jersey Medical School Joint Bachelor of Arts/Medical Degree (B.A./M.D.) Program
The Rutgers University/UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School joint program started in the fall of 2003. The purpose of the program is to permit students to begin their medical education after their third year or at least 98 degree credits at Rutgers. Specially selected students will obtain bachelor's and medical degrees in a seven-year program of study taken at Rutgers University and New Jersey Medical School (NJMS). Completion of the program in eight years is possible for students who elect to complete a fourth year (including all of the requirements for the bachelor's degree) at Rutgers before matriculating at NJMS.
This program is only open to all students enrolled on Rutgers University's New Brunswick Campus.
Admission is a two-phase and highly competitive process. In the first phase, undergraduate students are admitted into the program by the Joint Program Executive Committee consisting of Rutgers and NJMS faculty. Eligible applicants are sophomores at any of the undergraduate schools on the New Brunswick Campus of Rutgers University who have spent at least a year here. The executive committee reviews applications and selects those students who are deemed most qualified for the program. The second phase occurs typically after the third year of study. It is the responsibility of the NJMS Admissions Committee to review the credentials of students recommended by the Joint Program Executive Committee. The purpose of this second 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 in courses taken at Rutgers. This second review is noncompetitive. Students who are deemed to have met the academic and nonacademic standards of the program will be recommended to the NJMS Admissions Committee. However, recommendation is not automatic. The final decision rests with the Medical School Admissions Committee. Upon approval by the Medical School Admissions Committee, the student will be permitted to continue into the next year of study and will be matriculated formally as a candidate for the M.D. degree in the New Jersey Medical School.
Applicants for the program must be in their fourth semester at Rutgers–New Brunswick. Applications will not be accepted for the program until April 1 in order to allow time for as much information as possible to be transmitted. Applications will not be accepted after June 1. Decisions are expected to be made in July. 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 and science grade-point average of 3.5 by the end of the third semester which must be maintained 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, one semester of college-level mathematics, and one semester of English. Applicants who have not taken General Biology I and II at Rutgers, 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 (i.e., two courses of at least 3 or more credits each at the 200 level or higher). Those students who are admitted to the program without having two semesters of physics, organic chemistry lab, and two semesters of English must complete these requirements by the end of the third year of study. The MCAT is required, but it is not a determining factor in the acceptance or retention of the student. An application form has been developed that allows the student to provide the committee with information the committee deems useful for its deliberations.
Students may choose either a seven- or eight-year program with year one being the first undergraduate year. Students will be admitted at the end of the spring semester of year two and be formal members of the program beginning with year three. Prior to leaving Rutgers, students must satisfy all college and major requirements, except for the credits which they will receive from NJMS (please see next paragraph). For a student at Rutgers–New Brunswick who has elected to major in biological sciences, 15 credits from NJMS will be applied toward the major.
The baccalaureate degree will be awarded upon completion of the undergraduate college requirements and major requirements, usually by the end of year four or five, but no later than the end of year six, before clerkships begin. Upon satisfactory completion of year seven or eight and all New Jersey Medical School requirements, the student will receive the medical degree.
A student enrolled in the program completing a major in biological sciences at Rutgers–New Brunswick 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, 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 NJMS courses can be accepted toward the biological sciences major. 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. Please be sure to meet with a biological sciences adviser when selecting life science elective courses because not all course combinations are allowed, given overlap in subject matter taught at Rutgers and NJMS.
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.
