Here's some quick info on the UNTHSC medical masters program.
UNTHSC's Masters of Medical Sciences is a one-year year-round (May to May) premedical graduate masters program. It is one of two formal post-baccalaureate/graduate premedical programs in Texas according to AAMC, the other being offered at Lamar University. It is the only such program offering a degree for its completion (an MS). The curriculum is listed on the program's website, (which can be found
here) so I won't go into details, but it's designed to give a very good base in the hard sciences while also giving students a taste of medical liberal arts with classes like biomedical ethics. Also included in the curriculum are workshops on applying, writing personal statments and interviewing, and there is an optional MCAT course taught by Princeton Review over the summer for a substantially reduced price vs. other PR courses.
Lectures are currently administered to students in many different arms of the grad school of biomedical sciences at one time. This has led to some frustration among med masters students, since many professors focus (and test) on their own research and outline certain research methods that are useless to anyone in a clinical setting. The program's administrators have expressed to us that the plan for next year is to instead separate the med masters students from traditional GSBS students and have the classes taught separately. I can't guarantee it will work out that way, but I see it as a big plus for the program. Students would end up getting a curriculum that is much more focused to their interests than they would in any other setting.
It is a graduate-level program, meaning that all classes are taught with the assumption that one has completed the acceptable undergrad coursework. The online course catalog states that anyone applying to the UNTHSC Grad School must have a degree in biology, chemistry or biochemistry. I don't know for sure that this holds true for med masters applicants,
so you should check with the admissions office if you plan to apply with a BS or BA in a different major. A GRE score is not required for admission, but an MCAT score is.
Students accepted are strongly encouraged, though not required, to apply to both TCOM and to other medical schools during the year-long program. Students in the program are automatically guaranteed an interview at TCOM, but not an acceptance. According to a paper published in the AAMC's official journal, as of Spring 2007, 101 students had completed the program, (after six years of the program's existence) and 70 of them had been admitted to medical schools. This is considerably impressive considering that most of these students were denied admission at least once previously.
I know that his is just anecdotal evidence, but I believe that Texas A&M looks very favorably on the program's students. So far three students that I know of have been accepted to A&M's medical school, (the most of any school so far, again that I know of) and everyone that I have spoken with who has multiple interviews at Texas MD programs has had an interview at A&M.
I know that I sort of rambled a bit here, but hopefully this will clarify some of your questions about the program. Considering I've been accepted already
I am quite satisfied with the program. Feel free to PM me or post here with any questions.
