Office of Student Affairs

Our office coordinates services to ensure medical students are able to successfully navigate the medical curriculum while maintaining balance in their personal and professional lives.

We provide students with guidance regarding the following services available at VCU:

Curriculum Overview

The program for the M.D. degree is divided into four phases.

M1, The Scientific Foundations of Medicine, occupies the first year of Medical School from August until May. This emphasizes foundational knowledge required to be able to understand the structure, function and pathophysiology of the different organ systems. In the second semester, students will study Hematology Oncology, the Musculoskeletal Systems,Gastrointestinal System and Metabolism, Endocrine and Reproduction Systems. 

The second phase, M2, occupies the second and third semesters of medical school and is called the Applied Medical Sciences. This is a multidisciplinary integrated curriculum in which students will learn the normal structure and function of each organ system integrated with the pathophysiology of disease and treatment strategies. Following a summer break, students return for the M2 phase which includes the Cardiovascular, Pulmonary and Renal Systems and Mind, Brain and Behavior (Behavioral Science and Neuroscience). The next phase is the Core Clinical Concentrations in which students will rotate through the various clerkships of Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Neurology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, and Surgery. This phase will run from April until the following May. The final phase lasting from May until graduation is the Advanced Clinical Concentrations which includes Acting Internships, an Urgent Care elective, a teaching requirement and an integrated Clinical Care experience. The remainder is open for electives at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center and its affiliated sites and at approved medical schools elsewhere in the USA and abroad.

The curriculum is viewed as a dynamic and evolving entity, and course titles, content or duration of emphasis may be subject to modification for the sake of improving the learning experience.

Each course in M1 and M2 is designed and implemented by a faculty committee, and each phase of the curriculum is supervised by a faculty coordinator.

VCU School of Medicine C3 Curriculum Overview

 

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Financial Aid for MD Program

In order to serve its student body efficiently, VCU SOM maintains its own office of financial aid.

In order to serve its student body efficiently, the SOM maintains its own office of financial aid. The SOM Scholarship Committee, composed of administrators, faculty and appointed physicians from various specialties of medicine, makes policies for the awarding of institutional financial aid. Applicants seeking consideration for institutional scholarships must file the PROFILE application by CollegeBoard (https://student.collegeboard.org/css-financial-aid-profile) as well as the FAFSA 2018-2019 (https://fafsa.ed.gov) In addition, applicants may be asked to provide copies of their and/or their parents' Federal Income Tax Returns. Students seeking only loan assistance are not required to fill out PROFILE application. They must complete FAFSA for every academic year they are seeking federal student loan assistance.

Applicants who anticipate borrowing student loans as a means of financing medical education are advised to ensure that their personal credit record has no adverse credit history. The establishment of good credit is not a requirement for obtaining the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan but the Federal Direct Graduate Plus Loan and Private Student Loans take credit history into account.

Financial need is not a factor in decisions regarding admission. Financial Aid information is made available to all students who are invited to the SOM for admissions interview.

The SOM Financial Aid Office is the primary point of contact for all financial aid questions. It is located on the fourth floor of McGlothlin Medical Education Center, Room 4-306. You are welcome to visit, call (804-828-4006) or e-mail any staff member.