University of California, Irvine, College of Medicine Admission
University of California, Irvine, College of Medicine Undergraduate Program
University of California, Irvine, College of Medicine Application

The Facts

The University of California is a rather large, public institution located in the town of Irvine, California, and has a combined graduate and undergraduate population of over 22,000 students. The university's College of Medicine, however, is significantly smaller, and is home to about 788 graduate medical students. The average age of enrollment is around 23, and it is fairly rare for any of the students to enter the school directly from their undergraduate education. The school is perhaps best known for its Medical Scientist Training Program, as well as for its emphasis on the biological sciences. Aside from the basic MD degree, the school also offers joint degrees in the MSTP, the MD/MBA, and the MD/PhD in various areas of the biological and medical sciences.

Admission to UC Irvine's College of Medicine is extremely competitive among the many students who apply; last year, over 3,400 students applied for admission to the school, and approximately 244 of those students were accepted. Eventually however, only about 92 of the admitted students actually enrolled for the coming semester. The admitted students had average MCAT scores of about 11.0 in Biology, 11.0 in Physics, and 10.0 in Verbal, as well as an average undergraduate GPA of about a 3.7. Students are notified of their admissions status on a rolling basis, and there is currently no early application program in place.

The College of Medicine has about 788 faculty members, all of whom come from very diverse medical and academic backgrounds. The school also boasts a very manageable student to faculty ratio of about 2:1, and the small courses allow for plenty of discussion and interaction between students and their professors.

Graduates of UC Irvine's College of Medicine are often accepted to some of the most prestigious and competitive residency programs in the nation, and a large percentage enter the university's own program. Students most frequently specialize in various areas of primary care, including family medicine, general surgery, as well as psychiatry.

Clinical Programs

Students are required to complete extensive clinical training including 12 weeks of ambulatory medicine, 8 weeks of ob/gyn, 4 weeks of pediatrics, 6 weeks of psychiatry, 4 weeks of family medicine, 8 weeks of surgery, 4 weeks of intensive care unit, 2 weeks of substance abuse, 4 weeks of neuroscience, 2 weeks of emergency medicine, 2 weeks of radiology, as well as a 2 week musculoskeletal elective. Students complete their training at affiliated facilities including the UCI Medical Center, the Veterans Administration Medical Center, as well as the College of Medicine's local clinics.

What's Good

"The Medical Scientist Training program is absolutely phenomenal. It's unique in that you are trained in highly innovative research techniques."

"There are many student interest groups here, and you have a chance to socialize outside of an academic setting."

"There is actually a good amount of comfortable on campus graduate housing."

What's Bad

"The school could be a bit more diverse. I would like to see more community involvement."

"The MSTP is very difficult to get into. Only six students are chosen each year."

"There are way too many clinical requirements in my opinion."

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