The BA/BS-MD degree program is a partnership between the University of Colorado Denver's (CU Denver) College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the University of Colorado School of Medicine located on the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, Colorado. The purpose of the program is to admit outstanding students from broadly diverse backgrounds who are committed to serving the health care needs of Colorado. Provided that program participants meet a specific set of requirements, being accepted into the program enables students to have a reserved seat in a top-ranked medical school and will allow them the freedom to explore other interests during their undergraduate college years at CU Denver.
Program Process & Details
- The BA/BS-MD combined degree program will take a minimum of eight years to complete; four years of undergraduate studies and four years to complete an M.D.. Students will not be able to graduate early from their undergraduate program.
- Students must attend the CU Denver Downtown campus and complete a Bachelor's degree of their choice. A list of all undergraduate programs is available at: http://ucdenver.edu/academics/degrees/Pages/UndergraduateDegrees.aspx.
- Students will be guided in applying for additional scholarships to help cover their educational costs.
- Students will be required to complete a sequence of required premedical coursework while pursuing their Bachelor's degree.
- Students will be required to live on Campus at Campus Village at Auraria their freshman year, and will live with students who are also in the BA/BS-MD Program and have similar academic interests in the Health Sciences. Students have the option of living off campus their sophomore, junior and senior year.
- Students will be required to participate in, and attend monthly co-curricular seminars on the Anschutz Medical Campus, and participate in full time summer programs each summer of their undergraduate education. The goal of the seminars and the summer programs is to enrich a student's education and enhance their knowledge about Colorado's public health issues, and to gain further knowledge about cutting edge research and biomedical ethics.
- Upon successful completion of a Bachelor's degree, all academic and non-academic program requirements, and the MCAT, students will enter the University of Colorado School of Medicine (SOM) to complete their M.D. degree.
Program Criteria
Tuition/Scholarship
All BA/BS-MD students are expected to aggressively apply for all scholarships for which they are qualified; the financial aid office will work closely with successful applicants to the program.
Summer Programs and Living On Campus
An important component of the BA/BS-MD program are summer programs designed to help students successfully make the transition to college as well as enrich their educational experiences and prepare them for medical school. Student participation in each of these summer programs is mandatory. With the exception of the summer bridge program, students will be paid for the time spent in the summer programs.
- The summer before matriculating at University of Colorado Denver, students will be expected to participate in a mandatory Summer Bridge Program.
- • Begins in early Spring after acceptance into the Program and will last until the start of the academic year of matriculation.
- • The Program includes on and off campus activities that are designed to help students with transition from high school to the much more demanding academic environment of a University.
- • Activities include but are not limited to, a reading preparation program, a math review program, and an intense week long program called BA/BS-MD Boot Camp.
- • BA/BS-MD Boot Camp starts one week before the start of the academic year; Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM.
- • Students will be participating in intense academic and non-academic activities on the Downtown Denver Campus and at the Anschutz Medical Campus.
- The summer between a student's freshman and sophomore year, students will spend eight weeks working in hospitals and/or clinics in the Denver metropolitan area. These experiences will be in coordination with the Undergraduate Pre-health Professions program at the Anschutz Medical Campus.
- The summer between a student's sophomore and junior year, students will spend eight weeks working in a clinical setting where they will work side by side with a physician/clinician observing and learning about the practice of medicine in an urban or rural setting.
- The summer between a student's junior and senior years, students will spend eight weeks participating in an intensive MCAT exam prep course through the Urban Medical Scholar's Program at the Anschutz Medical Campus.
Students are required to reside in the Health Sciences Learning Community in Campus Village during their freshman year. Students may live off campus as sophomores, juniors, and seniors.
Course Work - Course list and schedule pre-requisites
In order to remain in good academic standing in the Program, students must complete a minimum of 60 credit hours during their first two academic years and must maintain an overall college grade point average of 3.5. In addition, students in the program cannot receive a grade lower than a B (3.0) in any of the required medical school pre-requisite courses. (these courses are listed below). The required timeline for completing pre-requisite courses is also given below. Finally, students must achieve an overall MCAT score of 28 or higher prior to November of their senior year. While the MCAT requirement is inflexible, should any of the grade expectations fail to be met by a student, the student will be placed on probation for one semester, during which time the deficiency must be remedied. If the deficiency is not remedied, the student will be dismissed from the program. The decision for dismissal must be affirmed by a majority of the BA/BS-MD Promotions Committee. The student can appeal a dismissal decision to the Steering Committee, whose judgment on the matter is final.
Students are expected to show evidence of appropriate professional behavior and development during their progression toward their baccalaureate degree and are expected to participate fully in all activities associated with the program. Failure to meet these obligations is grounds for dismissal from the program, a decision which must be affirmed by a majority of the BA/BS-MD Promotions Committee. The student can appeal a dismissal decision to the Steering Committee, whose judgment on the matter is final.
It should be noted that dismissal from the program does not preclude a student from applying to the University of Colorado School of Medicine as a regular applicant.
Students can major in any undergraduate discipline at the University of Colorado Denver that leads to a B.A. or B.S. degree. However, all students must complete the medical school pre-requisites in accordance with the course list and schedule pre-requisites, while pursuing their undergraduate degrees.
All students will be required to enroll in Honors General Biology I and II as well as Honors General Chemistry I and II unless they have completed these courses through a recognized IB program and received a score of 5 or better on the IB exam for each subject. Students who completed AP Biology and Chemistry courses will be asked to repeat those courses at the University. Students who have taken courses at local community colleges or are transferring large number of credits to the University need to understand that this will not reduce the amount of time they will be required to spend in this program. Early graduation is not on option through this program.
At the end of every academic year, the BA/BS-MD Promotions Committee will review the progress of each student through the program. At the end of the third year, this review will include an interview carried out by the admissions committee of the University of Colorado School of Medicine. If concerns are raised about academic performance or professional development of the student, they will be shared with the student and the student will be counseled and given an opportunity to address deficiencies. If problems are not adequately addressed by the student, the Promotions Committee can recommend dismissal from the program. Any recommendation for dismissal must be approved by the Steering Committee.
Upon successful completion of the bachelor's degree and all program requirements as described above, students will be deemed to have met the academic and non-academic qualifications for admission to the University of Colorado School of Medicine and will be allowed to matriculate to complete their MD degree. While completion of the program will academically qualify the student for admission to the University of Colorado School of Medicine, final admission as a student to the University of Colorado School of Medicine is conditioned on meeting all non-academic qualifications of School of Medicine applicants, including but not limited to the completion of a background check.