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        Site Revised 7/07/08

Since 1975, the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at the Georgetown University School of Medicine has conducted a special program leading to a Masters of Science degree in Physiology and Biophysics.  This program, called the Special Masters Program (SMP), is tailored to college graduates who wish to strengthen their credentials for application to U.S. medical schools.  The Georgetown SMP is the first and longest running program its kind.  The unique features of the SMP make it ideal for students to obtain a strong Masters-level education while at the same time strengthening their medical school application.  Some of these features are:

• The SMP is an eleven-month program, running from mid-August to early- June.  This allows students to apply to medical school while  in the program and matriculate immediately after finishing the program..
• SMP students take six of their classes with Georgetown's first-year medical students.  SMP students take the same classes and exams at the same time as the medical students.  SMP students grades are determined based on the medical student's curve.  In order for SMP students to receive a grade of "B" they must perform near the upper half of the medical school class on the medical school examinations.  This grading system makes it possible for medical school admissions committees to directly compare the graduate student's achievement in the Basic Sciences with that of our highly selected medical students.
• The SMP has an excellent success rate as far as its graduates matriculating to medical school; historically, 50-60% of SMP students have gained admission to medical school during the year they are enrolled in the program.  Approximately 85% of SMP students have eventually been accepted to medical school.

While satisfactory completion of the Special Masters Program does not automatically guarantee acceptance to medical school, as the statistics show, the majority of our students do gain admission to medical schools throughout the United States. 

Selection of candidates for acceptance to the Special Masters Program in Physiology and Biophysics is based on overall undergraduate college performance and MCAT scores.  Applicants usually have an overall GPA of at least 3.0 and total MCAT scores of at least 28. 

The prerequisite courses for the SMP are the same as for medical school, 2 semesters each of general chemistry, organic chemistry, biology and physics. If you do not have these required courses, you may want to investigate a post-bacc program such as here at Georgetown.

Georgetown Summer Medical Institute: In addition to the outstanding SMP and CAM master's programs, Georgetown University School of Medicine now offers Human Gross Anatomy, Human Physiology, Microanatomy (Histology) and Biochemistry summer courses (based on our medical courses) to junior, senior, and post-bacc students. Through the Georgetown Summer Medical Institute, these excellent educational opportunities will enrich the pre-medical student's academic background, and the program and support will provide valuable insight into a career in medicine. Please visit the GSMI website for additional information.

Applications for the Class of 2010 will be accepted starting December 1, 2008