Admissions Information

Click here for a message from our Director. Complete the downloadable MSTP Supplemental Application for the MSTP class entering in 2009 and click here to check on our receipt of your Supplemental Application and Letters of Recommendation.

Applicants to Northwestern University's Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) complete the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT), submit only one supplemental application for admission in 2009 (the MSTP Supplemental Application), and provide at least 3 letters of recommendation (which will include one from each research supervisor or research mentor) accompanied by the completed Recommender's Form. Applicants who will take (or re-take) the MCAT in July-September, 2008, should indicate this on their MSTP Supplemental Application (question 6). Applicants to the Northwestern MSTP do not complete the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).

Completed MSTP application files are reviewed on a rolling basis beginning in August, and invitations to interview in October -January and offers of admission are extended on a rolling absis.

A complete application file for the Northwestern MSTP consists of:

1. your certified AMCAS Application with your MCAT score

The (AMCAS) application is completed online and submitted to AMCAS any time between June 1 and October 15, 2008.

2. your MSTP Supplemental Application (with your signed Contact Information cover sheet with a passport-style photo sent via postal mail plus pages 1-9 sent via email)

Applicants to the Northwestern MSTP complete only one supplemental application - the MSTP Supplemental Application - and do NOT complete a supplemental application for the medical school. Click here to access the Northwestern MSTP Supplemental Application for the MSTP Class entering in 2009. Since this is a Word document, you can download it and complete it on any computer. Shortly after we receive your certified AMCAS Application, you will receive a letter (via postal mail and email) acknowledging our receipt of your AMCAS Application and inviting you to submit the Northwestern MSTP Supplemental Application. Please submit two parts - the "the Contact Information and Checklist cover sheet", with your passport-style photo and check/money order payable to Northwestern University for the $75.00 application fee. Please submit this printed, signed hard copy by postal mail to the MSTP Office and submit pages 1-9 of the Supplemental Application as an electronic Word file attached to your email to the MSTP Office.

3. submit at least 3 letters of recommendation, each accompanied by the MSTP Recommenders Form

Request at least three letters of recommendation specific for your admission to the combined MD-PhD program (MSTP) and request that they are mailed directly to the MSTP Office to arrive by December 10, 2008. The letters should include one from each of your research supervisors. If your college/university prepares a composite "Premedical Advising Committee" letter, please ensure that both the committee letter and the original individual letters of recommendation are sent to us. And if you are applying both MD programs at other institutions and to the Northwestern MD-PhD program, you can submit the same letters you requested for your MD applications elsewhere (including your research mentor's MD letter) plus plus request at least at an additional letter specific for MD-PhD admission from your principal research mentor (plus the Recommender's Form). Finally, if you requested your recommenders to submit their letters to a web-based service such as Virtual Evaluations, Interfolio, etc., please indicate this on your Northwestern MSTP Supplemental Application.

Applicants for the MSTP Class entering in 2009 can check on our receipt of their Supplemental Applications and Letters of Recommendation after September 1, 2008. After acceptance of the Northwestern MSTP admission offer, entering students will apply to Northwestern's Graduate School by late April or early May.

Because completed application files are reviewed and interview invitations are extended on a rolling basis beginning in August, 2008, we encourage applicants to complete their files as early as possible. Applicants will be invited to interview on a Wednesday through Friday from October, 2008 through January, 2009 (once per month). Applicants who are not invited for the MSTP interview will still be considered for admission to the M.D. program in the Feinberg School of Medicine (FSM). The MSTP Admissions Committee will begin meeting regularly from September through January to review applications for Fall 2009 and invite candidates to interview on a rolling basis.

Eligibility

Minimal requirements for application to the MSTP are:

• a bachelor's degree in the natural or physical sciences, mathematics or engineering or a bachelor's degree in other disciplines with significant advanced courses in the natural or physical sciences, mathematics or engineering
• significant research experience (at least one academic year or three summers)
• a strong record of academic achievement
• evidence of commitment to a dual career in biomedical investigation and medicine
• leadership or volunteer activities and interests in and out of school

International students are eligible to apply to the MSTP if they have completed at least 3 years of full-time study (undergraduate, graduate, or post-baccalaureate or any combination) at an accredited college or university in the US or Canada. If admitted, international students will receive the same financial support as all other MSTP students.

Students already enrolled in certain programs at Northwestern University also are eligible to apply the MSTP at Northwestern University should contact the MSTP Associate Director (Dr. Sandra Lee) in MSTP Office for specific instructions.

Students in the Graduate School must complete the (MCAT), submit the AMCAS Application, the MSTP Supplemental Application, at least three letters of receommendation (one from each research supervisor) with the Recommender's Form, and provide an official transcript of their Fall 2008 quarter grades.

Students in the Feinberg School of Medicine must provide a copy of their AMCAS Application including their (MCAT) score, complete the MSTP Supplemental Application, request at least three letters of receommendation (including one from each research supervisor) with the Recommender's Form, and provide a copy of their FSM exam scores and grades through December, 2008.

Students in the combined bachelor-MD degree program (Honors Program in Medical Education, HPME), and in the Northwestern Undergraduate Premedical Scholars Program (NUPSP) must complete the (MCAT), provide a copy of their AMCAS Application, complete the MSTP Supplemental Application, request at least three letters of recommendation (one from each research supervisor) with the Recommender's Form, and provide an official transcript of their Fall quarter 2008 grades.

MSTP Admissions Timeline

June 1 - October 15

• On your AMCAS online application, please select "Northwestern University MD/PhD Program", please answer the two questions for applicants to MD/PhD programs and submit the AMCAS Application, plus official transcripts of all your college courses, to AMCAS by October 15, 2008.
• After AMCAS certifies and sends your AMCAS Application to the Northwestern University MSTP Office, we will notify you by letter and by email of our decision to invite you to submit the Northwestern University MSTP Supplemental Application, available as a downloadable Word document from this web site, along with the "Instructions" and the "Contact Information and Checklist". Submit the MSTP Supplemental Application by November 30, 2008 in electronic form as a Word attachment to your email to mstp@northwestern.edu. Submit the Contact Information and Checklist as a hard copy (in printed form) to which you attach your passport-size photo, and mail it with your check or money order for the $75 application fee (payable to Northwestern University) by November 30, 2008 to: MSTP Office, Feinberg School of Medicine, Ward Building, Room 12-363, Northwestern University, 303 East Chicago Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611-3008. (Please note that if AMCAS granted you a fee waiver, your application fee to the MSTP also will be waived.)
• Request at least three letters of recommendation for admission to the combined MD-PhD program (MSTP) be mailed to the MSTP Office to arrive by December 5, 2008. If your college/university prepares a composite "committee" letter, with excerpts from individual letters, please ensure that both the committee letter and the original individual letters of recommendation are sent to us. And if you are applying both MD and MD-PhD programs, you can submit the same letters for MD admission plus an additional letter specific for MD-PhD admission (plus the Recommender's Form) from each principal investigator who was your research mentor.
• Download the MSTP Recommender's Form, complete it, and forward it as an electronic Word file to each person who will write a letter of recommendation in support of your MSTP application. This form was designed to help your recommenders write recommendation letters that address those factors considered most important by the MSTP Admissions Committee. If your college/university uses a comparable form, you may omit the MSTP Recommenders' Form.
• Completed applications (AMCAS Application with MCAT score, MSTP Supplemental Application, 3 letters of recommendation) will be reviewed on a rolling basis beginning in September, 2008.

October - January: MSTP Interview Visits

Selected candidates will be invited by letter (sent both by postal mail and by email) for a 2-day interview visit (Wednesday afternoon through Friday afternoon) with members of the MSTP Admissions Committee and of the Feinberg School of Medicine Admissions Committee, plus research faculty and MSTP students during four interview weeks. Dates for the four interviews will be announced by June 20. Each interview week includes an orientation by the MSTP Director, interviews with graduate research faculty at both campuses, an interview with an MSTP student, and an exit interview with the MSTP Director and Associate Director and the Chair of the the MSTP Admissions Committee. All on-site expenses directly related to the interview visit (hotel and meals) will be paid by the MSTP and these arrangements will be made by the MSTP Office. Interviewing candidates are responsible for their travel expenses for the interview visit and for personal expenses. Candidates offered admission will be invited for a second visit in 2009 and all re-visit-related expenses will be paid by the MSTP.

December - May: Offers of Admission Extended (Rolling Process)

A few offers of admission will be extended to candidates in a rolling process soon after each interview week. The majority of admission offers will be made after all candidates have interviewed, i.e., after the last interview week in January, 2009.

April 15: Deadline for Acceptance of MSTP Admission Offers

Since the Northwestern MSTP requires a laboratory rotation during the summer, 2009, the deadline for acceptance of MSTP admission decisions is April 15, 2009. (Please note that the Northwestern deadline for acceptance of MD admission decisions is still May 15, 2009.)

Questions

Questions about application to the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) should be directed to Mr. Jeffrey Hargraves or Dr. Sandra Lee in the MSTP Office. Applicants are invited to explore the curricula of the medical school and the six life sciences, engineering, and chemistry graduate programs before applying to the MSTP.

Northwestern University
Medical Scientist Training Program
Ward Building, Room 12-363
303 East Chicago Avenue
Chicago, IL 60611-3008
877-NWU-MSTP (toll-free)
312-503-5232
mstp@northwestern.edu