Modular Medical Integrated Curriculum (MMEDIC)

In 1977 the faculties of the College of Arts & Sciences and the School of Medicine developed a combined program designed to integrate the liberal arts and the basic medical sciences. The MMEDIC program currently admits to the School of Medicine, subject to review (as described under “Program Requirements” below), a limited number of qualified students who have completed two years of undergraduate study in the College of Arts & Sciences or another undergraduate college at Boston University. It offers an integrated curriculum composed of undergraduate and medical school-related courses, enabling those preselected students to enhance their transition to the curriculum at the School of Medicine. The MMEDIC program thus introduces certain preclinical subjects into the last two years of the undergraduate program.

In order to achieve curricular integration, students enroll in courses designated as modules of instruction. These include Biochemistry & Cell Biology, Cellular Organization of Tissues, Physiology, and courses in public health. In addition to the modular courses, students are expected to complete requirements for their major and pursue electives in the humanities and social sciences.

Individual modules of instruction may also be open, on a seat-available basis, to qualified students not enrolled in the program and may be credited toward fulfillment of the requirements for the baccalaureate degree.

MMEDIC is not designed to accelerate the premedical-medical sequence but rather to effect a better educational transition from undergraduate to graduate professional study. Students must be registered in an undergraduate four-year degree program, of which at least three years must be taken at the College of Arts & Sciences or one of the other undergraduate schools or colleges at Boston University; the last two years of undergraduate study must be completed in the MMEDIC program at Boston University. Students must also register at the School of Medicine for at least four years for a total of eight years of combined study. Additional information may be obtained from the College of Arts & Sciences, Preprofessional Advising Office, 100 Bay State Road, 4th Floor, Boston, MA 02215.

Eligibility & Admission

The program is designed to admit a limited number of students who expect to enter their third year of undergraduate study in September. Acceptances are determined during the preceding spring and summer.

Admission into the program, and thereby to the School of Medicine, is based on academic record, letters of recommendation, and involvement in college and community activities, as well as on less tangible qualities of personality, character, and maturity.

Students who are interested in applying to the MMEDIC program should pursue a rigorous premedical course of study and demonstrate superior performance in and out of the classroom. Coursework must include one year of general chemistry, one year of organic chemistry, and one year of general biology by the completion of sophomore year. After an initial review of applications, well-qualified applicants are invited for a personal interview with members of the admissions committee.

Program Requirements

MMEDIC students must demonstrate their ability to master the modules of instruction and must exhibit a high degree of maturity, integrity, and emotional stability to be promoted to the medical phase of the program. Four modules of instruction must be completed prior to entry into the School of Medicine, at least one of which must be in Biochemistry & Cell Biology, Physiology, or Cellular Organization of Tissues.

At the conclusion of each semester, or as necessary, the Promotions Committee for Early Assurance Programs reviews the student’s progress. Students are expected to maintain a 3.20 GPA cumulatively and a 3.00 GPA in the sciences for all courses taken after entry into the program to be eligible for promotion to the next semester and ultimately to the School of Medicine. Failure to meet these criteria will result in appropriate action by the Committee, including academic probation, disciplinary probation, remedial coursework, suspension, or dismissal from the program. Students who have not achieved a 3.20 GPA cumulatively and a 3.00 GPA in the sciences for all courses taken after entry into the program are ineligible for promotion to the School of Medicine.

At the end of each curricular year, or as necessary, the Promotions Committee requests a report from Judicial Affairs & Student Safety Programs to determine if students have violated University policies, as well as a report from the dean’s office of the students’ college to determine whether students have engaged in academic misconduct. The content of these reports is considered in all promotions decisions, including the decision on promotion to the School of Medicine. Any student who has violated University policies or engaged in academic misconduct has the opportunity to submit a written explanation to the Promotions Committee.

Students must take the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) in the spring of the third year of undergraduate study. Students must achieve a combined score of at least 30 on the three numerically scored sections of the MCAT. The results of the MCAT are considered by the Promotions Committee when it makes the final decision as to whether to promote students to the medical curriculum.

Before entering their first year in the School of Medicine, students in the program must also complete the usual required premedical courses (one year each of general chemistry, organic chemistry, biology, physics, English composition or literature, and humanities).

Students who for any reason (e.g., academic, motivational, ethical, or emotional) are found to be ill-suited for the program may be transferred without loss of credit into their undergraduate college. Such students may apply for entry to the School of Medicine or any other medical school by the conventional premedical route. Students may transfer voluntarily out of the program at any point and continue their undergraduate education at Boston University.

MMEDIC is designed to provide a gradual and orderly transition into the curriculum of the School of Medicine and not to be an accelerated program. Students are expected to receive the BA in no fewer than the traditional four curricular years. The MD is awarded in no less than four curricular years from the time of entering the School of Medicine.

Promotion Requirements to Enter the School of Medicine

Students must complete all requirements of their college and the MMEDIC program by the end of the spring semester of their senior year to be eligible for promotion to the School of Medicine. Students who have not achieved a 3.20 GPA cumulatively and a 3.00 GPA in the sciences for all courses taken after entry into the program are ineligible for promotion to the medical school.

A report is requested from Judicial Affairs & Student Safety Programs to determine if students have violated University policies. A report is also requested from the dean’s office of the students’ college to determine whether students have engaged in academic misconduct. The content of these reports is considered in promotion decisions. In addition, medical students may, in accordance with federal and state law, or institutional policy, be asked to consent to a criminal background check. For students in the MMEDIC program, this may occur at the time of admittance to the program or promotion to the School of Medicine and/or at other times in the course of the medical school curriculum. The results of this criminal background check will be considered in entrance and promotion decisions.

Tuition

Tuition for the first two years of MMEDIC (i.e., the third and fourth years of undergraduate study) is the same as that charged to students in the regular curriculum of their college. Tuition for the third year of MMEDIC (i.e., the first year of study at the School of Medicine) and for the remaining three years of study at the School of Medicine is the same as that charged to students enrolled in the regular curriculum of the School of Medicine.

Curriculum

The following modular courses are offered through the efforts of the faculties of the College of Arts & Sciences, the School of Medicine, and the School of Public Health. These courses are also listed among the individual departmental offerings.

• CAS PH 251 Medical Ethics
• CAS PH 452 Ethics of Health Care
• GMS AN 722 Cellular Organization of Tissues
• GMS BI 751 Biochemistry and Cell Biology
• GMS BN 779 Beginning Basic Neurosciences
• GMS MA 620 World Religions and Healing
• GMS MA 630 Medical Anthropology and the Cultures of Biomedicine
• GMS MA 640 The Cultural Formation of the Clinician: Its Implications for Practice
• GMS MH 701 Counseling Theory
• GMS MI 713 Comprehensive Immunology
• GMS PA 600 Introduction to Pathology and Pathophysiology of Disease
• GMS PH 730 Human Physiology A
• GMS PH 731 Human Physiology B
• GMS PM 730 Introduction to Medical Pharmacology
• SPH BS 704 Biostatistics
• SPH EP 713 Introduction to Epidemiology
• SPH PM 702 Introduction to Health Policy and Management