Mount Sinai School of Medicine Launches SciMed
The new innovative undergraduate program for shaping future physician-scientists begins this winter.
Mount Sinai School of Medicine has developed a new early admission entrance track for outstanding undergraduate students majoring in computational science and hoping to pursue translational biomedical research. The Science and Medicine Program (SciMed) is an innovative early admissions program that offers a unique opportunity for science-oriented college sophomores interested in a career in research the chance to gain early acceptance to Mount Sinai School of Medicine. The school will accept applications from students majoring in engineering, computer science, genetics or mathematics.
SciMed allows undergraduate students to pursue a personalized yet rigorous science curriculum, without requiring them to take the traditional pre-med requirements or the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT). This program, assures highly motivated undergraduates provisional admission to Mount Sinai School of Medicine upon successful completion of program requirements and graduation from their undergraduate institution. Students admitted under the SciMed track will be required to take one year of biology and chemistry. Unless organic chemistry, physics, or calculus are needed for their majors, students will not be required to take them. The MCAT is not required for admission. Beginning this winter, students can apply to the program in the second semester of their sophomore year. Once accepted, they must follow specific requirements that include participating in structured, mentored research, and producing a senior thesis, or equivalent scholarly work.
"We want to train and encourage students who are poised to make significant strides in scientific discovery and innovation in the 21st century," said Valerie Parkas, MD, Associate Dean of Admissions and Associate Professor of Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. "This program will allow these bright, motivated students who love science to explore and challenge themselves intellectually without fear of jeopardizing their chances of being accepted to medical school."
"The key to a great education is a strong foundation in your undergraduate years," said David Muller, MD, Marietta and Charles C. Morchand Chair in Medical Education and Dean for Medical Education, Mount Sinai School of Medicine. "We want students to make the most of those years, challenge themselves, and come to medical school better prepared to make breakthrough discoveries. SciMed removes the barriers that often stand in the way of truly innovative thinking."
SciMed will recruit up to ten students per year, and students from any undergraduate institution may apply. SciMed students are also eligible to apply to Mount Sinai School of Medicine dual degree programs. The MD/Masters in Clinical Research dual degree and MD-PhD dual degree programs are competitive programs with application processes occurring prior to medical school matriculation.
"Our mission is to develop superbly trained, socially responsible physicians who will define the direction of translational science for the next generation," said Dennis. S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs of The Mount Sinai Medical Center. "Mount Sinai School of Medicine believes that students with superior quantitative skills and expertise will be in the forefront of future research endeavors."
About The Mount Sinai Medical Center
The Mount Sinai Medical Center encompasses both The Mount Sinai Hospital and Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Established in 1968, Mount Sinai School of Medicine has more than 3,400 faculty in 32 departments and 16 institutes. It consistently ranks among the top 20 medical schools both in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding and by U.S. News & World Report. The medical school also ranks third in NIH funding per faculty member. The school received the 2009 Spencer Foreman Award for Outstanding Community Service from the Association of American Medical Colleges.
The Mount Sinai Hospital, founded in 1852, is a 1,171-bed tertiary- and quaternary-care teaching facility and one of the nation’s oldest, largest and most-respected voluntary hospitals. In 2011, U.S. News & World Report ranked The Mount Sinai Hospital 16th on its elite honor roll of the nation’s top hospitals based on reputation, patient safety, and other patient-care factors. Of the top 20 hospitals in the United States, Mount Sinai is one of only 12 who employs a best-in-class integrated business model that seamlessly combines its management, governance and information technology with a medical school. Nearly 60,000 people were treated at Mount Sinai as inpatients last year, and approximately 560,000 outpatient visits took place.
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