Curriculum
The curriculum is organized to allow each of our graduates to achieve the eleven educational objectives noted in the Mission and Medical Education Program Objectives for the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. The regular M.D. curriculum comprises four academic years designated First through Fourth Years. The academic requirements of this program can be combined with graduate study leading to a Master's or Ph.D. degree.
The Genes to Society curriculum is highly integrated both vertically and horizontally across the four years. Elective time is available beginning in Quarter 4 of the Second Year. Elective courses are described in the programs of the various departments in the section under Departments and Divisions, Centers, Institutes, and Subjects of Instruction. This information is supplemented by an elective book which is updated continuously. Selected students may interrupt the regular curriculum for one or more years in order to pursue special studies.
The study of science basic to the practice of medicine begins in the First Year with four months of Foundations courses, including Foundations of Human Anatomy, Scientific Foundations, Clinical Foundations, and Foundations in Public Health: Epidemiology, Ethics, and the Health Care System. These courses are intended to introduce students to the basic language and concepts of biomedical science, including molecular biology, cell biology, biochemistry, anatomy, and the social and behavioral sciences. During Clinical Foundations, students begin training in the physician-patient medical interview, physical diagnostics, and clinical reasoning. Each student is assigned a college advisor (see Student Advising, page 77) upon entry to medical school, who serves as the instructor in Clinical Foundations, and academic and career advisor for the remainder of the four years.
Following winter break in First Year, students begin an 13-month organ systems-based course, Organ Systems Foundations of Medicine, which presents genetics, immunology, molecular biology, advanced anatomy, physiology, pathology, pathophysiology, and clinical presentations related to each organ system. Infectious Disease, Dermatology, Hematology/Oncology, Brain, Mind and Behavior, and Nerve System and Special Senses are covered in the First Year. One half-day per week is devoted to a precepted clinical experience, the Longitudinal Ambulatory Clerkship, which provides further training in patient-centered interviewing, physical diagnosis, and health care systems.
Beginning with the first week of medical school and periodically in between courses, 3-day TIME (Topics in Interdisciplinary Medicine) courses will focus students on a multidisciplinary topic related to the social and behavioral sciences. The First Year TIME courses are Disparities and Inequalities in Health Care, Nutrition and Behavior Change, High Value Healthcare, Clinical Informatics, Substance Use Disorders, and Pain Care. Students will have a variety of lecture and small group discussions supplemented by experiential and skill learning in each course. In the afternoons of these TIME courses students will be attending a Scholarly Concentration course in one of five concentrations: Basic Science Research, Clinical Research, Public and Community Health Service, Ethics and the Art of Medicine, and History of Medicine. Beginning as a seminar series, each student will eventually complete a mentored scholarly project by the end of the Second Year of study.
Second Year students return in mid August to complete the Organ Systems Foundations of Medicine course in the following organ systems: Pulmonary, Renal, Cardiovascular, GI/Liver, Endocrine, Musculoskeletal, and Reproductive. The Longitudinal Clerkship continues one-half day per week until the winter break. The TIME courses in the Second Year are Substance Use Disorders, Patient Safety, and End-of-Life/Palliative Care. The Organ Systems Foundations of Medicine course ends in February of the Second Year, and is followed by a 3-week Transition to the Wards course, which provides intensive training in procedural skills, team communication skills, and clinical reasoning in preparation for the hospital-based clerkships that follow.
In the final quarter of the Second Year, students begin the core clinical clerkships. These are 8-week rotations in the clinical disciplines of Medicine, Surgery, Pediatrics, and Women’s Health; 4-week rotations in Neurology, Psychiatry, and Emergency Medicine. A week of Translational Science is required after each 8-week clinical experience; during these weeks, students will return to a discussion of state of the art biomedical investigation. Students may elect to delay one Third Year 8-week rotation, but should complete this required core of rotation by the end of the first quarter in Year 4. Two 1-month advanced clinical rotations are required prior to graduation: a Subinternship and either the Advanced Critical Care Clerkship or the Advanced Ambulatory Clerkship.
The clinical clerkships are devoted to the study of health and disease in the various clinical departments of the School of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Howard County General Hospital, Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, Anne Arundel Medical Center, St. Agnes Hospital, and other affiliated hospitals. Students are introduced to practical clinical problems through instruction and participation in a health care team. Elective courses available in every department range from direct participation in current biomedical research to advanced clinical work. Many clerkships and elective courses may be taken during the summer.
In addition to the advanced clinical clerkships noted above, students are required to complete a 2-week capstone course in the Fourth Year designed to refresh clinical skills and prepare them for internship. This course, Transition to Residency and Internship and Preparation for Life (TRIPLE), is offered twice in the spring of the Fourth Year, and includes simulation-based training, advanced cardiac life support, and advanced communication skills.
The academic year for first year students begins in August and ends in June. There is a fall break in November, winter break in December and a spring break in March.
Between the First and Second Years, there is a summer vacation of six to eight weeks when students may engage in research or other studies. Students must arrange their schedules to include, between the start of the fourth quarter of the Second Year and graduation in May of the Fourth Year, 7 quarters of required clinical clerkships and 24.5 weeks of elective work; two additional vacation periods may also be scheduled. At the student’s discretion, vacation quarters may be used for research, board preparation, or additional elective study. Graduating students cannot schedule required core or advanced clerkships during the fourth quarter of the Fourth Year, unless approved by the Associate Dean for Student Affairs.
The total number of students in each class of the regular four year program is 120.
Electives
Programs in which elective study and research leading to graduate degrees are integrated with the medical program are described in a later section (“M.D.-Ph.D. Programs”). A limited number of stipends are available for students who wish to devote one full year to research.
Approval may be granted for elective study at institutions other than the Johns Hopkins University. In such instances, the student must present a description of the elective including goals and objectives to the Associate Dean for Student Affairs for approval. Electives are generally 4-4.5 weeks in length, and may not overlap with required courses for Johns Hopkins School of Medicine students. One of the required elective quarters may be taken at another non-affiliated medical institution. Students desiring to study at other institutions must make final arrangements through the Office of the Registrar of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Students visiting other institutions and those who devote their free time to elective courses in this institution will be held responsible for proficient work just as in the case of the required subjects of instruction.
Formal registration for elective quarter programs is through the Office of the Registrar of the School of Medicine. The elective work for the Second through the Fourth Years is denoted by the symbol E (e.g., Neurology E). Such courses are listed numerically by department or sub-department. The catalogue does not list all elective courses. The Elective Book, an up-to-date description of all elective opportunities, is maintained by the Registrar and is available from the Registrar’s Office.
Required Work
The required departmental work for each course and core clerkship is usually regarded as a unit. It may be offered and graded as a single course, although the catalogue may indicate various course elements that comprise the whole. Formal registration for all required courses must be made through the Registrar of the School of Medicine.
Requirements for M.D. Degree
To be eligible for the M.D. degree, candidates must successfully complete the prescribed course of study of the First through the Fourth Years.
Preparation for Medical School
The courses taken and the grades earned are but a portion of an applicant’s credentials. Certain areas of study (i.e. introductory biology, chemistry, physics and organic chemistry with associated laboratory exercises, and calculus) have traditionally been of value to medical students. Beyond the successful fulfillment of these basic prerequisites the Committee on Admissions is concerned solely with the quality and scope of an applicant’s undergraduate educational experience. The field of concentration for undergraduate studies and the selection of additional courses in the sciences and mathematics should be the choice of the student and will not affect the admissions process.
Requirements for Admission
The following general requirements must be met by all applicants:
- Accredited Institution. All applicants must be or have previously been in attendance at an institution on the list entitled “Accredited Institutions of Postsecondary Education,’’ authorized and published by the American Council on Education, One DuPont Circle, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036. Extension or evening courses taken in fulfillment of premedical course requirements are not acceptable unless they are identical to courses offered in the college’s regular academic program. Preparation in foreign universities, in most cases, must be supplemented by a year or more of course work in an accredited United States university. The School of Medicine accepts prerequisites completed at the community college level. The change in policy acknowledges that as part of the holistic review process used to select applicants to interview at Hopkins, many factors are considered. These factors include the rigor of the applicant’s course of studies, grades, MCAT scores, clinical and research exposure, letters of recommendation, personal statement, and the applicant’s understanding of medicine. In addition, we consider the path the applicants have taken which led to their desire to apply to medical school and become a physician.
- Required Academic Work. A list of specific pre-medical course requirements may be found under Course Requirements for Regular MD and MD-PhD Applicants. In order to assess the classroom performance of an applicant, the Committee on Admission requires that all of the coursework submitted in fulfillment of admission requirements must be evaluated on the basis of a traditional grading system. Such a system must employ a range of numbers or letters to indicate the comparative level of performance. If the applicant has received a grade of Pass/Credit for any of the specified premedical course requirements, the instructor must supply, in writing, a statement evaluating the student’s performance in that course. CLEP credits may not be substituted for any course requirement.
- Conditions of Admission. Students admitted to the School of Medicine on a conditional basis (i.e., requirement(s) yet to be completed) must fulfill those conditions prior to matriculation in the School of Medicine.
- Standardized Testing. The Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) is required for acceptance. The MCAT must be taken no later than September in the year the application is submitted. The oldest MCAT considered will be from four years prior to the year of matriculation.
- Letters of Recommendation. A recommendation from the applicant’s college premedical committee or an officially designated premedical advisor is required. If the college does not have a premedical advisor or premedical committee, two letters of recommendation are required from science faculty members in science departments who have taught the applicant and one non-science faculty member who has also taught the applicant. In addition to the letters indicated above, applicants with advanced degrees and/or full-time employment are required to submit recommendations from each component of their education and major work experiences. In addition to those letters required for application to the MD Program, two additional letters of recommendation are required for all MD-PhD applicants. These letters are typically from faculty with whom the applicant has done research.
- Non-U.S. Citizen Applicants. Preparation in foreign universities, in most cases, must be supplemented by a year or more of course work in an accredited United States university. Official transcripts are required from all colleges attended outside the United States and Canada. Non-U.S. resident students are not eligible for federal or state funds. Financial aid funding is available to all current and newly admitted non-U.S. resident medical students. Financial aid assistance will be provided in the form of institutional loan and/or scholarship.
- Application Review. Following receipt of all required credentials, the committee on admission will review applications and make interview decisions. Applicants selected for interview will be notified by the committee.
Application for Admission
Applicants must first submit an online application at American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS). The deadline for submitting an application to AMCAS for Johns Hopkins is October 15th.
Once you have completed your AMCAS application and it is verified, you will be invited to submit the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine secondary application. The deadline for submission of the secondary application for admission to either program is November 1st.
Letters of recommendation to either the MD or MD-PhD Programs must be received by November 15th.
Application Fee: The secondary application fee is non-refundable and must be paid online when submitting the secondary application. The application fee will be waived for applicants who have received an AMCAS fee waiver. Specific details are available in the secondary application instructions.
For the latest information concerning admissions requirements and procedures, please visit our website at: MD Admissions. Specific questions about applying to the School of Medicine may be answered by calling the Admissions Office at 410-955-3182
. Information may also be requested by writing to:
Committee on Admissions,
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine,
733 N. Broadway, Suite G-49,
Baltimore, MD 21205
or via email at somadmiss@jhmi.edu.
Accepted Applicants: It is the policy of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine to require criminal background investigations on accepted students in any professional or graduate program at the School of Medicine, interns, residents, and clinical fellows in any Graduate Medical Education program sponsored by Johns Hopkins, and other clinical and research postdoctoral fellows at the School of Medicine.
School of Medicine Technical Standards for Admission
Technical Standards for Medical Students
The mission of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine is to prepare physicians to practice clinical medicine of the highest standard with compassion and to identify and solve fundamental questions in the mechanisms, prevention and treatment of disease, in health care delivery and in the basic sciences.
JHUSOM is committed to diversity and to attracting and educating students who will make the population of health care professional representative of the national population.
Although students learn under the supervision of faculty, students interact with patients throughout their medical school education. Patient safety and wellbeing are therefore critical factors in establishing requirements involving the physical, cognitive, and interpersonal abilities of candidates for admission, promotion, and graduation. The necessary abilities and characteristics described below are also referred to as technical standards. They are defined in several broad categories including observation, communication, motor function, intellectual-conceptual, integrative, quantitative abilities, social and behavioral skills, and legal and ethical standards.
JHUSOM will consider for admission any applicant who meets its academic and nonacademic criteria and who demonstrates the ability to perform the skills listed in this document, with or without reasonable accommodations.
The stated intention of a medical student to practice only specific areas of clinical medicine, or to pursue a non-clinical career, does not alter the School of Medicine’s requirement that all medical students achieve competence in the full curriculum required by the faculty.
Technical Standards
Observation:
Medical students must acquire information as presented through demonstrations and experiences in the foundational sciences. Medical students must be able to obtain and interpret information through a comprehensive assessment of patients, correctly interpret diagnostic representations of patients’ physiological data, and accurately evaluate patients’ conditions and responses.
Communication:
Medical students must exhibit interpersonal skills to enable effective caregiving for patients, including the ability to communicate effectively, with all members of a multidisciplinary health-care team, patients, and those supporting patients. Medical students must be able to record information clearly and accurately interpret verbal and nonverbal communication.
Motor Functions:
Medical students must be able to perform routine physical examination and diagnostic maneuvers. Medical students must be able to provide general care and emergency treatment for patients, and to respond to emergency situations in a timely manner. These activities require some physical mobility, coordination of both gross and fine motor neuromuscular functions, and balance and equilibrium. Medical students must be able to meet applicable safety standards for the environment, and to follow universal precaution procedures.
Intellectual-Conceptual, Integrative and Quantitative Abilities:
Medical students must be able to effectively interpret, assimilate, understand, and communicate the complex information required to function within the medical school curriculum both in person and via remote technology, and engage in problem solving individually and in small groups. Medical students must demonstrate the ability to comprehend three-dimensional relationships and adapt to different learning environments and modalities.
Behavioral and Social Attributes:
Medical students must exercise good judgment; attend to the responsibilities necessary for the care of patients; and develop mature, sensitive, and effective relationships with patients. Medical students must demonstrate the skills required to effectively manage heavy workloads, function under stress, adapt to changing environments, display flexibility, and learn to function in the face of the uncertainties inherent in the clinical problems of patients. Medical students are expected to exhibit professionalism, personal accountability, compassion, integrity, concern for others, and interpersonal skills including the ability to accept and apply feedback and treat all individuals in a respectful manner, regardless of gender identity, age, race, sexual orientation, religion, disability, or any other protected status.
Ethics and Professionalism
Medical students must maintain and display ethical and moral behavior commensurate with the role of a physician in all interactions with patients, faculty, staff, students, and the public. Medical students should understand and function within the legal and ethical aspects of the practice of medicine.
The technical standards delineated above must be met with or without accommodation. Students who, after review of the technical standards, determine that they require reasonable accommodation to fully engage in the program should contact Student Disability Services to confidentially discuss their accommodation needs. Given the clinical nature of our programs, time may be needed to create and implement the accommodations. Accommodations are not retroactive; therefore, timely requests are essential and encouraged.
Equal Access to the JHUSOM Educational Program
Our core values translate into our work with all students, including those with disabilities. JHUSOM actively collaborates with students to develop innovative ways to ensure accessibility and creates a respectful accountable culture through our confidential disability services. JHUSOM is committed to excellence in accessibility; we encourage students with disabilities to disclose and seek accommodations.
Candidates with Disabilities
- Candidates who have questions about or want to request accommodations, auxiliary aids and/or services should contact Student Disability Services.
- In accordance with Johns Hopkins’ policies which, in turn, embody applicable federal, state, and local laws (e.g., the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act), the Medical School does not discriminate in admissions or educational programs against any individual on the basis of their disability or handicap. No otherwise qualified individual with a disability/handicap will be excluded from admission.
- All candidates must be able to perform essential functions in a reasonably independent manner. Their use of senses such as touch, pain, temperature position, pressure, movement, stereognosis, and vibration must be sufficiently intact to enable them to carry out all activities required for a complete medical education. Candidates must have motor function capabilities to meet the demands of medical education and the demands of total patient care. The candidates for the medical degree must be able to independently demonstrate a range of abilities and skills. The use of trained intermediaries to carry out functions described in the technical standards will not be permitted. Intermediaries, no matter how well trained, apply their own powers of selection and observation, which could affect the student’s judgment and performance.
Requests for Accommodations
- A candidate who has not been offered admission to the School of Medicine may disclose a disability and request accommodation during the admission process. This is not required unless the candidate wants to request an accommodation for the admission process.
- After admission, medical students (including admittees who have not yet accepted a place in a class at the School of Medicine, admittees who have accepted a place, and matriculating medical students) can disclose a disability and request accommodation through the Student Disability Services office using our on-line registration system. Documentation for accommodations must provide the specific functional limitations in which the student is seeking accommodations for.
- While medical students can disclose a disability and request an accommodation at any time during their enrollment, students are encouraged to disclose the need for accommodation(s) as soon as possible. Time for documentation review and arrangement of accommodation(s) is necessary and may take up to four to six weeks. Accommodations are not retroactive.
Ability to Meet the SOM Technical Standards
Candidates for admission must review and verify their ability to meet the School of Medicine technical standards when completing the application for admission.
If at any point an enrolled medical student ceases to meet the technical standards of the School of Medicine, they may choose to work with Student Disability Services to determine if reasonable accommodations could remove barriers. They also may work with the Office of Medical Student Affairs to see what other services are available. Should, despite reasonable accommodation (whether the candidate chooses to use the accommodation or not), a candidate or student’s existing or acquired disability interferes with patient or peer safety, or otherwise impede the ability to complete Johns Hopkins School of Medicine’s undifferentiated program and advance to graduation, residency, training, or licensure, the candidate may be denied admission or may be separated, discontinued, or dismissed from the program.
Responsibility
Monitoring of the ability of a candidate or student to meet the technical standards is the responsibility of a continuum of School of Medicine committees, faculty, and the medical student. For medical students who have matriculated into the School of Medicine, issues related to technical standards are evaluated by the Pre-Clerkship or Clerkship Student Assessment and Formational Committee and the Medical Student Promotions Committee and considered on an individual basis.
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Early Decision
We do not accept applications for early decision.
Deferred Admission
The Deferred Admission Plan enables students to diversify their educational and life experiences as they prepare for a career in medicine. Deferred admission may be approved for a period of one to two years to pursue international fellowships (Rhodes, Rotary, Marshall, Watson, Fulbright scholarships, etc.), join the Peace Corps, participate in service assignments in the United States or abroad, teach, or conduct research. Admitted applicants who are interested in deferring their matriculation into the first-year class, must submit a written request by April 15th for review and approval by the Deferral Committee. If approved, applicants must complete an AMCAS application by October 1st of the year prior to matriculation. Please contact the Admissions Office for further information.
Combined Study-MD-PhD
The Committee on Admission accepts applications not only from applicants for the MD program but from those who are interested in a combined MD-PhD degree. Provided with the Johns Hopkins application for the MD program is a supplemental form which should be completed by those applicants for the combined degree. Under the section “Graduate Programs’’ in this catalogue, those departments which offer study leading to a PhD degree are listed. When the application for the MD program as well as the “Application Supplement for Admission to Combined MD-PhD Study” are received along with all necessary letters of recommendation, they will be reviewed by the Committee on Admission, the MD-PhD Committee, and by the appropriate graduate department. If admitted to both degree programs, the student will ordinarily be expected to complete at least the first year of MD study before starting full-time PhD work. Students initially accepted for only one of the two degrees are eligible to reapply for study towards the other at a later time. Students enrolled in the MD program can make application for a graduate program at any time during the course of their medical training. See section entitled “The Training of Medical Scientists: MD- PhD Programs.”
Advanced Standing
Due to space limitations, the School of Medicine is unable to admit transfer students.
Doctor of Medicine
Persons who have already received the degree of Doctor of Medicine elsewhere or the equivalent will not be admitted as candidates for that degree from the Johns Hopkins University.
Course Requirements for Regular MD and MD-PhD Applicants
- Biology
College Biology with laboratory, one year (8 semester hours)
The student should have an appreciation for the diversity of life such as viruses, prokaryotes, plants and animals, and a familiarity with the life cycles and metabolic activities of these organisms. The student should attain a basic understanding of the structure and function of the mammalian cell. Included should be a basic understanding of mammalian genetics. Applicants with Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) credits in biology, acceptable to the student’s undergraduate college, may be used in fulfillment of the requirement, but they must take one additional semester of an advanced biology with lab. Individuals who have completed their studies in biology more than 4 years prior to their application are strongly advised to take a one semester advanced mammalian biology course. We will accept online prerequisite courses completed at an accredited college or university.
- Chemistry
General college chemistry with laboratory, one year (8 semester hours)
Organic Chemistry with laboratory, one semester, and one semester of biochemistry without a laboratory. The student should have knowledge of chemical equilibrium and thermodynamics, acid/base chemistry, the nature of ions in solution and redox reactions, the structure of molecules with special emphasis on bioorganic compounds, reaction rates, binding coefficients, and reaction mechanisms involved in enzyme kinetics. Also important is a basic understanding of the structure of nucleic acids including how they store and transfer information. Applicants with Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) credits in general chemistry acceptable to the student’s undergraduate college, may be used in fulfillment of the requirement, but they must take one additional semester of an advanced chemistry with lab. We will accept online prerequisite courses completed at an accredited college or university.
- Humanities, Social, & Behavioral Sciences
The study of the humanities, social, and behavioral sciences is an essential foundation for the study of medicine. (24 semester hours) An applicant’s educational experience must include at least 24 semester hours in these disciplines. Effective communication skills are essential and candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English and be able to communicate well. Successful passage of the TOEFL examination is required for all students whose undergraduate instruction was conducted primarily in a language other than English. We will accept online prerequisite courses completed at an accredited college or university.
- Mathematics
Calculus or statistics, one year (minimum of 6 semester hours)
Mathematics courses should enable the student to develop equations, to interpret graphical representations of function, and to evaluate probability involved in testing hypotheses. Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) credit for calculus, acceptable to the student’s undergraduate college, may be used in fulfillment of the math requirement. Regardless of such credit, it is strongly recommended that applicants take at least one semester of statistics or epidemiology. We will accept online prerequisite courses completed at an accredited college or university.
- Physics
General College Physics with laboratory, one year (8 semester hours)
The student should have an understanding of the constants and units of physical measurement; Newtonian mechanics; the physical properties of various states of matter such as liquids, solids, and gases; and the basic aspects of electricity, magnetism, and optics. Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) credit for physics, acceptable to the student’s undergraduate college, may be used in fulfillment of the physics requirement. We will accept online prerequisite courses completed at an accredited college or university.
