anyone have Info on Loyola's MA in Medical Science

[alEXatosu]

I have searched threads from the last year in this forum trying to find something on Loyola's Masters of Art in Medical Sciences program and have found virtually nothing! Is no one applying to this program, and if so why? I applied 1.5 months ago am still waiting. I have a lot of questions, so any current or former students' input would be greatly appreciated. Additionally, any current applicants willing to chime in?

1. What's with the Masters of ART? I'm not sure what to make of it, but I don't think it's a good thing

2. What does everyone think of the program as a whole? (getting applicants into med school, administration, classes, student life, pros/cons, etc.)

3. How strong is the link to the med school? How many students apply to Loyola?

4. Are these all grad school courses, or is it a mix? How hard are the classes?

5. Any other useful info would be grrrrrreat.

thanks everyone 😉

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[Phil Anthropist]

I do not have any personal experience with the program. But if you compare it to many of the other pre-professional enrichment certificate/masters programs, I think it falls short.

1. What's with the Masters of ART? I'm not sure what to make of it, but I don't think it's a good thing

Sometimes the Master of Arts vs. Master of Science is merely a matter of semantics, but sometimes it isn't. For example, I believe many of the masters programs through Boston University and the University at Buffalo (SUNY) are all Master of Arts. However, many of these programs include strong research components such as a laboratory thesis and/or thesis defense. Some schools offer the Master of Arts for non-thesis tracks and Master of Science for thesis tracks. An example is the Biology and Physiology masters programs offered at Ball State University in Indiana.

In the case of Loyola's program, I think the Master of Arts, as opposed to Master of Science, does make a difference. The MAMS program has no labs, no research papers/proposals, no library- or laboratory-based thesis, and no other research components (e.g., laboratory rotations). In contrast, a program like the Master of Arts in Medical Sciences at Boston University does require a library- or laboratory-based thesis.

2. What does everyone think of the program as a whole? (getting applicants into med school, administration, classes, student life, pros/cons, etc.)

From an observer's standpoint, I don't have a positive perception of the program.

Here's a comparison of some of characteristics of the better known Special Masters Programs:

Credit hours:
*Loyola 24
*UMDNJ 30
*Boston University 32
*EVMS 34
*Georgetown 34
*Rosalind Franklin 48

Classes with US MD students:
*Loyola-No
*Georgetown-Yes
*Boston University-Yes
*EVMS-Yes
*UMDNJ-Yes
*Rosalind Franklin-Yes

Research component (library/laboratory/clinical thesis, research paper, review, laboratory rotation, etc.)
*Loyola-No
*Rosalind Franklin- No
*Georgetown-Yes
*Boston University-Yes
*EVMS-Yes
*UMDNJ-Yes

The program just finished its first year. I think the acceptance rate that a student in the program gave me was like 40% and I'm not sure whether that included US MD, US MD and US DO, or US MD / US DO / foreign MD. This is significantly lower than other programs like Rosalind Franklin, Georgetown, Boston University, etc. Furthermore, students who had pretty good stats to start with may have even been accepted to med school in the Fall (mid-October through mid-December). In these cases, I think it's safe to say that the MAMS program probably didn't make the difference since grades would not have been released at that time.

3. How strong is the link to the med school? How many students apply to Loyola?

My understanding is that Stritch School of Medicine wants little to do with the program (at least relative to G-town, BU, Rosalind Franklin, EVMS, UMDNJ, etc.). The program is also designed to include a glide/lag year (see the description on the website).

4. Are these all grad school courses, or is it a mix? How hard are the classes?

All courses are graduate courses taken solely with your fellow MAMS students. You take no classes with MD, DO, PhD, MS, etc., students.

5. Any other useful info would be grrrrrreat.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=176696
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=194156

It's no secret that I think the program is poorly designed. It's not completely useless, but I do think there are many other programs that are better designed or more established. I'd be happy to hear differing points of view on the program, but I don't think this program can compete with what many of the other pre-professional graduate-level programs have to offer.

 

[jackbnimble]

Here's a comparison of some of characteristics of the better known Special Masters Programs:

Credit hours:
*Loyola 24
*UMDNJ 30
*Boston University 32
*EVMS 34
*Georgetown 34
*Rosalind Franklin 48

P
Jackb

 

[Phil Anthropist]

Yep, you're reading that correctly Jackb.

RFU's MS in Applied Physiology program is 48 credit hours. Of the 48 credits, 38 are taken with the med students. The curriculum can be found here (the courses listed with asterisks are medical courses) :
http://www.rosalindfranklin.edu/sgpds/physiology/msapplied.cfm

If you pass the courses in the MS in Applied Physiology program, you do not have to retake. However, if you choose to matriculate to Chicago Medical School the following year you still have to pay full tuition. The successful AP students that matriculate enter as MS1As (MS1s with Advanced Standing) and they only have a few more first year courses to take (e.g., Anatomy). During this MS1A year some opt to take some electives, some do research, some review for the boards, some just chill, and many work because of the lighter schedule.

My understanding is that in previous years, students were pretty much guaranteed an acceptance to CMS with a B average in the AP program. But this is an intense all-or-nothing program. I know some people who were accepted to the AP program and thought that they could hack it, but they didn't put in the effort. Others who were unsuccessful at obtaining admission to CMS were simply not prepared for the rigor of the program.

A curriculum with 48 credits in one year with multiple medical courses (Molecular Cell Biology, Medical Physiology, Medical Biochemistry, Embryology, Human Genetics, and Medical Neuroscience) should not be underestimated.

If you're determined to get into a US MD school as soon as possible and you're not too picky with where you end up for med school, the AP program is the way to go. Just bring your A game future APs! 😎

Edit: I believe the curriculum has changed slightly...looks like it's 49 credits, not 48.

 

[junebuguf]

The MAMS program is basically a glorified post-bacc pre-med program at the undergrad level, dressed up to graduate status so students can get private loans.

The Loyola program is a graduate program with courses taught with more of a research focus, as opposed to the clinical focus used in med schools. As a result, the emphasis is on depth, not breadth as in med school, meaning there is less memorization and fewer topics covered in greater depth, so there are fewer credit hours. So there is a valid reason to have fewer credits in the Loyola program.

Other programs, like Georgetown, BU and RFU are pure med school programs, so they have more credit hours. Ultimately, if your goal is med school, you should want to take the med course route because it would give you and idea of the difference between med school and undergrad/grad courses in terms of the voluminous amount of info and the clinical focus. It also enables adcoms to view how you would perform in them.

 

[Can U Feel It?]

The RFU AP Program is 48 credits, but RFU is on quarters. Hence each RFU credit is equivalent to 2/3 credits at any of the other programs. So the program is really equivalent to 32 semester hours.

 

[Phil Anthropist]

The RFU AP Program is 48 credits, but RFU is on quarters. Hence each RFU credit is equivalent to 2/3 credits at any of the other programs. So the program is really equivalent to 32 semester hours.

Hmmm...Good point. I didn't even think about that.

Sometimes these different calendar systems confuse me. My most recent college went on a trimester system, but each credit was worth one semester credit. So most people averaged 9-12 credits per trimester, but these were equivalent to semester hours. I'm not terribly familiar with quarter units, so I stand corrected. 😳

If RFU's program is ~ 32 semester hours, it would have ~19 credits with the med students. That would put its credits right around G-town, EVMS, RFU, and UMDNJ (but not Loyola! 😛 ).

 

[calbear15]

I have yet to hear about anyone getting accepted to the Loyola program. What the heck happend? Anyone know?

 

[alEXatosu]

I called Loyola about 2 weeks ago, and they said they have accepted no one thus far! They also they are shooting for a notificiation in late June/early July. Obviously, their administration of the program is comparable to its strength---WEAK.