Early Admission Scholars Program

The University of Minnesota Medical School Duluth Early Admission Scholars Program is a new program whose goal is to educate excellent family medicine physicians who will establish practices in rural/small town settings or Native American communities in Minnesota. This novel program is designed for undergraduate students who have been accepted to the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) and who demonstrate superior scholastic ability and personal development during their first three academic years of college. Only students who are enrolled at UMD in the Swenson College of Science and Engineering (SCSE) will be eligible for this program. Five students per year may be accepted into this program.

This program leads to the baccalaureate degree awarded by UMD and to the M.D. degree granted by the University of Minnesota Medical School. The curriculum for both degrees takes seven years to complete, three years of undergraduate and four years of medical school. After two years of a basic science curriculum in medical school, the students at the Medical School Duluth automatically transfer to the Medical School Twin Cities for their third and fourth years. The students in the early admission program would also transfer to Minneapolis under the same requirements; passage of Step 1 USMLE and satisfactory completion of all coursework during the first two years of medical school.

Students must complete work for the baccalaureate degree (Bachelor of Science Degree in Biomedical Sciences). Students must meet with an adviser to design a curriculum tailored to individual needs. Students must maintain a 3.5 overall and 3.5 science undergraduate GPA to progress to medical school.

Students are selected to the program during their junior year of college. Residents of Minnesota who have resided in small communities of less than 25,000 for the major portion of their lives and who have demonstrated a high potential for practice in a rural/small town setting or Native American communities will be considered.

Selection Factors

• Resident of Minnesota
• Rural focus—applicant must have spent significant time in small community
• Potential and motivation for family practice in rural Minnesota or Native American communities 
• MCAT score of 27 or higher in verbal reasoning, physical sciences, biological sciences, with no individual score lower than 8
• GPA of 3.5 or higher overall, and 3.5 or higher in science/math
• Letters of recommendation
• Significant service activities and exposure to the medical field

Timeline Details

• Student accepted into CSE
• Pursue a major in CSE
• Complete courses required for admission to the Medical School Duluth
• Complete UMD Liberal Education requirements
• Meet with assigned CSE pre-med adviser and MSD adviser
• Apply to the Medical School Duluth between June 1 and January 15 (AMCAS application) after sophomore and into junior year in CSE
• Interview with the Medical School Admissions Committee and learn of admission status March - April of junior year
• If accepted, acceptance is conditional upon satisfactory MCAT performance
• Must take MCAT by July in Junior year
• Enter medical school in fall after 3 years of undergraduate work
• At the end of first year of medical school apply for BS Biomedical Sciences from CSE
• Complete years 2, 3, 4 of medical school, receive MD

To receive the BS Biomedical Sciences Degree a student must have completed

• The UMD Liberal Education requirements
• The substantial portion of the first 3 years of any undergraduate major program in CSE
• The first year of medical school curriculum

University of Minnesota Medical School - Duluth Campus
Admissions Office
(218) 726-8511
medadmis@d.umn.edu