Application process
The Wayne State University School of Medicine evaluates candidates through a holistic admission process. In addition to fulfillment of all admission requirements, your entire record, including grade-point average, Medical College Admission Test scores, recommendations and secondary application will be considered. The Admission Committee uses this process to evaluate your personality, maturity, character and suitability for a career in medicine.
Admission eligibility
To be eligible to apply for admission to the Wayne State University School of Medicine, you must have completed a bachelor's degree including all Medical School pre-requisites and you must be:
- A U.S. citizen
- A U.S. permanent resident
- A Canadian citizen
- OR - - Any student who has completed a bachelor's, master's or doctoral degree at Wayne State University regardless of citizenship.
We do not accept transfer students to Wayne State University School of Medicine M.D. program.
As a state-supported school, the Wayne State University School of Medicine gives preference to Michigan residents, but out-of-state applicants are strongly encouraged to apply.
The M.D. Program Office of Admissions will use the Residency Classification from your AMCAS application to determine your residency.
Coursework
Specific coursework is required for admission. In unusual instances and at the discretion of the Admission Committee, you may be granted a waiver for certain course requirements, provided you have an exceptional academic record. Waivers must be requested in writing at the time of your application.
Regardless of your field of study, your premedical coursework must include:
- Two semesters of general biology
- Two semesters of general/inorganic chemistry
- Two semesters of organic chemistry
- Two semesters of physics
- One semester of writing
- One laboratory in biology, chemistry or physics
*Labs not required, but highly recommended.
The Admission Committee strongly recommends and will give consideration for the following courses:
- Biochemistry
- Statistics
- Medical ethics
- Mathematics
- Social science
- Upper-level biology
Advanced Placement courses will be accepted, but we recommend taking advanced level basic science courses at the college level to enhance your academic record.
Community college coursework will be accepted on a case-by-case basis.
International coursework
If your academic record includes courses taken outside the United States, you must have completed two years of coursework, including the prerequisite courses, at a U.S. or Canadian college.
Online courses and pre-requisites
Colleges and universities nationwide are offering a pass/fail or credit/no credit option in addition to transitioning to online platforms. For any pre-requisite coursework, we strongly recommend that you do not take these courses online. However, we will be flexible if no in-person courses are available at your home institution.
For all courses, Strong candidates will select courses to be graded as opposed to P/F if the option is available.
Medical College Admission Test (MCAT)
We recommend taking MCAT in the spring before you apply. We will consider scores on exams taken within the past three years. Each exam is evaluated separately. Scores from different exams will not be combined. You must take the MCAT no later than September of the year in which you apply.
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Additional Requirements
Letters of recommendation
We request letters of recommendation with your secondary application. A secondary application must include a statement from the pre-medical advisory committee at your college or university, or three letters of recommendation with at least two from faculty members. One letter must have been written within the past 12 months.
If you are in a postbaccalaureate or graduate program, we strongly encourage you to submit at least one letter from your program. If you are applying to the M.D./Ph.D. program, at least one letter must be from a researcher. Letters of recommendation can be sent at any time through the American Medical College Application Service. We will keep them on file until we review your primary application.
If your letters are being transmitted by your undergraduate advising office, they may be using VirtualEvals. Once your letters are posted, they will be downloaded by AMCAS and made available to us.
Interviews
The 2023-2024 cycle interviews will be conducted virtually. Attendance at one of our Interview Days is required. Selected applicants will be invited to attend an Interview Day after completion of the preliminary application, secondary application and review of letters of recommendation.
We do not require CASPer or PREview. All interviews will be held virtually through the Zoom platform in our AMP Application Portal. Interviews will consist of a faculty interview, a medical student interview, and up to five Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI) stations.
Technical standards
A candidate for the medical degree must possess abilities and skills consistent with the requirements of the Michigan Handicappers Civil Rights Act (Act 220 of the Public Acts of 1976), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Public Law 93-112), and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (Public 101-226).
Medical degree candidates must possess certain minimum technical capabilities essential to meeting the academic requirements of the program, including cognitive, observational, communication, motor, intellectual, conceptual, behavioral and social skills. Reasonable accommodations will be provided to assist in learning, performing and satisfying these fundamental standards. Reasonable accommodations will also be made to facilitate the progress of students where it does not compromise the Wayne State University School of Medicine's standards or interfere with the rights of others.
Accommodations will be made for disabilities in certain areas of the curriculum as required by law. The need for personal aids or assistants, caregivers, readers and interpreters may not be acceptable in certain phases of the curriculum, particularly during the clerkship years, when the use of a trained third party may not be permissible during some clinical training.