Pre-Medical Health Sciences Graduate Certificate Program

The Pre-Medical Health Sciences Certificate Program (CERT) of Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine (SOM) is a one-year, graduate-level program for individuals seeking to enhance their qualifications for admission into professional school, including Medical, Dental, and Veterinary School. Students who complete the Certificate Program also have an opportunity to continue to a Master of Science (M.S.) or Ph.D. degree program within the School of Medicine.

Administration of the Certificate Program is centralized within the School of Medicine, with required and elective courses based in specific Departments. See CURRICULUM below for more details.

The CERT Curriculum is structured to improve competitiveness for admission to professional schools and to help prepare students for taking or retaking standardized exams. In particular, we offer an MCAT refresher course to help CERT students to raise their MCAT scores (and other professional school scores, such as the DAT) and become more competitive.

The CERT Program is a graduate program designed for applicants who have already taken basic undergraduate courses required for medical school and other professional schools. For those who have not taken these required courses, VCU also has an undergraduate program: Post-Baccalaureate Health Sciences Certificate Program (http://www.vcu.edu/uc/prehealth/Prehealthpostbach.htm)

Criteria for Admission

A formal online application to the VCU Graduate School is required for admission to CERT. Most questions regarding the application process may be addressed at the Applicant Information web page.

Applicants should hold a Bachelors degree from an accredited institution; required prerequisites include two semesters each of Biology, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry and Physics. Admission is generally drawn from applicants with a cumulative GPA ≥ 3.0 and a science GPA ≥ 3.2; test score results of either MCAT ≥ 25, DAT ≥ 16 or GRE ≥ 1,200 (Verbal plus Quantitative) and 4.0 Analytic. International students must achieve ≥ 250 on the TOEFL examination or ≥ 600 on the GRE Verbal section.

Applicants interested in biomedical sciences Master of Science degree programs in specific disciplines should apply through the Certificate Program. Admission into the second year of the M.S. program can be achieved upon successful completion of the Certificate Program and specific departmental approval.

Application Deadline

While there is no deadline for applying to the Pre-medical Graduate Certificate Program, we suggest having all of your materials into the Graduate School by 1 July to ensure that your file can be processed in time for the fall semester. Please contact the Program Administrator in case extenuating circumstances may justify a later application date. Admission decisions are made on a rolling basis and spaces are limited.

Fast Track Review

Individuals may consult in advance with the Program Director for a preliminary review, using a self-reporting form for their GPA and MCAT's, DAT's or GRE's and including a brief personal statement and the names and e-mail addresses of three references. The Fast Track Review Self Reporting Form [Word] will allow rapid feedback to the applicant but does not replace the formal application to the Graduate School.

Fall 2010 Orientation Sessions

The School of Medicine Office of Graduate Education will host a New Student Orientation session on Monday, August 23rd (time and place TBA). Certificate students will have an additional orientation session immediately following the general session. Attendance at both orientation sessions is mandatory. Orientation will conclude with lunch and a campus tour.

Curriculum

Required and elective courses are drawn from departments within the School of Medicine: Anatomy and Neurobiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Human and Molecular Genetics, Microbiology and Immunology, Pharmacology and Toxicology, and Physiology and Biophysics. All courses are held on the MCV campus. Open the CERT Curriculum page for specific offerings.

To assist students with choosing courses, Elective Course Advice [PDF] is provided. Students should review this information with regard to the professional direction desired upon completion of the Certificate Program. The listed electives are suggestions only; students with varying interests may choose other courses with the approval of the Program Director.

Criteria for Graduation

Students must complete at least 27 credit hours of course work with a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 (4.0 scale). The curriculum is composed of three (3) required courses (15 credits) and 12 elective credits (including for-credit research options) spread over two semesters.

Guaranteed Medical School Interview at VCU School of medicine

Students successfully finishing the program with a GPA of 3.5 and presenting an MCAT score of 28 or higher are guaranteed an interview for Medical School at VCU, for the application cycle following completion of the CERT Program. Significant medical experience and exemplary professional behavior are also expected for guaranteed interviews.

NOTE: Although the CERT Program accepts international students, VCU only matriculates U.S. citizens, Canadian citizens or Permanent Residents for the M.D. degree. This restriction does not apply to M.S. or Ph.D. programs at VCU, and it does not apply to all U.S. medical schools for which the CERT Program is equally good preparation.

Research Option

Certificate students who continue into a second year for the M.S. degree (CERT/MS) program will work closely with an individual faculty member in a particular department. CERT/M.S. students attend "Meet the Lab" (no credit) in the fall semester of their first year, which consists of Departmental presentations to inform students of research opportunities. Research mentorship can thus begin in the first year by taking a spring elective in Directed Research (3 credits). In their second year, CERT/MS students focus almost exclusively on experiments in their mentor's laboratory, with minimal course work.

Tuition, Required Fees, and Benefits

The current tuition for the one-year CERT Program is $22,000 regardless of in-state or out-of-state status. Tuition includes the on-campus pre-MCAT refresher course, individualized career and personal counseling, mock interviews, letters of reference, and special-needs benefits. Additional in-state fees are $1,001.50 or out-of-state fees are $1,205.50 per semester. Thus for the 2009-2010 school year, the total per semester (tuition and required fees) is $12,001.50 for Virginia resident students and $12, 205.50 for non-resident students. Increases may apply for the 2010-2011 school year.

For those students electing the second-year CERT/M.S. program, the tuition in the 2nd year reduces to the standard published graduate tuition rate for in-state or out-of-state students.

Financial Aid

Financial aid is available to qualified CERT and CERT/M.S. students through the School of Medicine Office of Financial Aid. There are no additional funding opportunities. To be considered for financial aid, students need to complete the FAFSA form. An installment payment plan is available through the Office of Student Accounting.

Housing Opportunities

For students interested in residence halls, rooms for rent or apartment living, VCU offers a web site that provides housing opportunities and interesting facts about historic neighborhoods and counties in the Richmond Metropolitan Area. If you are not familiar with the Richmond area, here are some helpful hints on getting around and a listing of places to stay while you are visiting VCU.

Year book

• Class of 2010 [PDF]

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