Doctor of Medicine (M.D.)

Program Overview

The four-year program is designed to ensure that graduates achieve the educational program objectives by demonstrating competency in overarching areas such as medical knowledge, patient care, professionalism, and problem-solving. The curriculum provides extensive opportunities for self-directed learning in both didactic and experiential settings.

Admissions Requirements

Important technical details

Secondary Application invitations, interview invitations, offer letters, and any other communications made to applicants from the TTUHSC School of Medicine will be sent from our e-mail address somadm@ttuhsc.edu. Please make sure to mark this sender as safe and check your spam folder as well as your email inbox for correspondence.

Applicants are encouraged to pursue their desired interest with respect to a degree and do well in that major. Please note that non-science majors are strongly advised to enroll in additional science coursework beyond the prerequisite requirements.

• Applicants must have completed a minimum of 90 semester hours (or 134 quarter hours) at a regionally accredited US or Canadian college or university. Applicants who are working towards or have completed an undergraduate degree are preferred.
• All prerequisite courses must be taken at a regionally accredited US or Canadian college or university. Foreign coursework will not count towards meeting any of the prerequisites, even if transfer credit has been given for them by a US or Canadian school.
• Each prerequisite course listed in the table below must be completed with a grade of C or better.
  • AP and online credit and/or coursework for prerequisite courses is accepted however, we strongly encourage students to take traditional coursework.
    • AP credit will be accepted only if the school granting the credit lists the specific course(s) and number of credits granted per course on an official transcript.
    • Online coursework must be from an institution accredited by one of the six regional accreditors.  
    • This excludes all early acceptance programs.

Prerequisite Courses

Biochemistry

Biochemistry (3000 or 4000 level) is REQUIRED by TTUHSC School of Medicine and may be used toward fulfilling 3 hours of the Biological Sciences or 3 hours of the General Chemistry requirement.

Prerequisite course notes and guidelines

• Courses from all Biological Sciences applied toward a Baccalaureate degree in traditional science fields, such as General Biology, Biochemistry, Microbiology with Lab, Molecular Biology, Genetics, Cell Biology, Immunology, Parasitology, Anatomy and Physiology are acceptable as "Biology" credits, provided they are what is offered for Biology majors. For instance, the Biology course for "non-science majors" would not be acceptable.
• Courses for non-science majors or for health career majors (nursing, pharmacy, health professions, etc.) will not satisfy the required coursework. All required coursework must be applicable towards a traditional science degree.
• The Statistics course should be taught in a Math or Statistics Department. 
• Recommended upper-division courses (3000 or 4000 level courses) include: Microbiology with lab, Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, Genetics, Immunology, Parasitology, Anatomy and Physiology.
  • Applicants are strongly advised to have at least 6 hours of upper-division "Biology" courses (3000 or 4000 level courses).
• To identify courses that fulfill the prerequisites, please visit with your Pre-Health advisor. Courses listed here have been approved by the TMDSAS participating institutions to meet the education requirements.

The MCAT

• The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) is a requirement for admission into the TTUHSC School of Medicine.
• The highest score from the five years preceding the expected matriculation date is considered in the evaluation process.
• Test scores older than 5 years from expected matriculation date will not be considered.

Applications

For deadlines and important dates, refer to TMDSAS.

Primary application

The Texas Medical and Dental School Application Service (TMDSAS) application is required of all applicants.

A TTUHSC School of Medicine Secondary Application is required of all applicants.  Make sure you visit our secondary application section below to see the most updated and official secondary application questions. 

Eligible candidates will receive an email invitation from our school with the link and instructions to complete our secondary application after we have received their complete application from TMDSAS. Please allow for processing time by TMDSAS.

TTUHSC School of Medicine does not accept applications through the American Medical College Application Service® (AMCAS®) system.

Secondary application

• Please go to our Secondary Application Questions page for details.

The TTUHSC School of Medicine carefully reviews applications through a holistic review process. Holistic review is a flexible, individualized way of assessing an applicant’s capabilities by which balanced consideration is given to experiences, attributes, and academic metrics and, when considered in combination, how the individual might contribute value as a medical student and physician.

The core foundational commitment to respecting the various backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences of those we serve yields a positive impact on the health of our regional, national and global societies. As we pursue excellence in health care education, research and patient care, we will be ever mindful of the strength that is gained through collaborative efforts in advancing our mission and our university's culture.

*It is the goal of TTUHSC School of Medicine to accept only those students who are guaranteed to complete the full four years of the curriculum based on citizenship or permanent resident status. Therefore, only applicants who are permanent US residents or American citizens will be considered for interview and admission.

Applying early is so important. We tell everyone to apply early.  We provide statistics to back this up and now, we are taking action.  In an effort to help applicants meet this goal we are now providing the secondary application questions online.  Visit this page for the most current and official TTUHSC School of Medicine secondary application questions.  Questions will be updated annually by the end of April.

A TTUHSC School of Medicine Secondary Application is required of all applicants. Eligible candidates will receive an email invitation from our school with the link and instructions to complete our secondary application after we have received their complete application from TMDSAS. Please allow for processing time by TMDSAS.

Questions are broken down into two main sections below:

Areas of Interest

Select the area(s) of interest that you have experience or related activities with (please check all that apply).  For each selected area, please list your experience and/or activities; completed, current or planned.  There is a 150-word limit for each selected area:

• Practice in an underserved area and/or work with an underserved population
• Rural/Border health
• Medical Research/Academics
• Primary Care
• Other (please describe below)

Supplemental Information

1. Have you experienced any road bumps in your academic career? (low academic performance, dropping, retaking, or failing courses, etc.)
   • If yes, please explain your circumstance. (250 words or less)
      
2. Describe a meaningful setback in your academic, professional, or personal journey. How did you respond, and how has that experience shaped the habits, skills, and mindset you have developed to succeed in medical school?
    
3. If you are applying to a dual degree program, please rank them in order of preference. 
    
4. Are you applying to our MD & E program?
   • Describe your motivation to pursue this program at TTUHSC, be sure to include how you expect to benefit from our program.
   • How do you anticipate this program making you a more efficient caregiver?
   • Please list the highest-level math/chemistry/physics course you have taken or are currently taking.
   • What projects have you been involved in that require programming and or machine languages?  What languages do you prefer? 
      
5. Are you applying to FMAT?
   • What motivates you to participate in the FMAT program? (200 words or less)
   • What experiences have you had that would prepare you for this intensive program? (200 words or less)
   • What, in your opinion, distinguishes Family Medicine from other medical specialties? (200 words or less)
      
6. Have you experienced any hardship or adversity; personally or professionally?
   • If yes, please share your experience with us. (200 words or less)
      
7. TTUHSC has a values-based culture. Its core values are One Team, Kindhearted, Integrity, Visionary, and Beyond Service. Choose one core value that you believe represents your greatest strength. Explain why you chose this value and how it will contribute to your success and impact in medical school.
    
8. Please share with us your ideal practice. For example: Where would you practice? Who would your patients be? What would your specialty be? (100 words or less)
    
9. Do you consider yourself from West Texas or as having West Texas ties?
   • If yes, what town or county did you reside in, or what other factors would you cite? (100 words or less)
      
10. Have you ever participated in any TTUHSC special programs? Check all that apply. 

Admissions Interviews

Important technical details

Interview invitations, as well as any communications made to applicants from the TTUHSC School of Medicine, will be sent from our e-mail address somadm@ttuhsc.edu. Please make sure to mark this sender as safe and check your spam folder as well as your email inbox for correspondence.

• Interview invitations are sent via e-mail to the e-mail address in your TMDSAS application. 
• MD Applicants participate in two 20-minute interviews.
• FMAT invited applicants are given an additional 20-minute interview. 
• MD/PhD applicants also participate in an additional group interview.

After Interviewing: Rolling admissions, Texas Match and Alternate Pool

Pre-Match Rolling Admissions and TMDSAS Match

For information regarding Texas medical school acceptance and match process, please visit the TMDSAS website.

Post-Match Rolling Admissions and Alternate Pool

• In the event that an accepted applicant leaves his/her seat, an applicant from the alternate pool will be selected and an offer will be made. This process is generally very slow and unpredictable.
  • The alternate pool is not ranked.
• Applicants may be selected from the alternate pool up until the beginning of orientation at TTUHSC School of Medicine.