Preparatory Experience

Our recommendations for clinical experience, research experience, and volunteer experience are not prerequisites for admission, and we will review all applications regardless of prior experience. However, we recommend that applicants include relevant experience in their application to demonstrate their preparedness for our program and their alignment with our program goals. 

When reporting experience hours, applicants should report only the number of hours completed at the time of application. Extrapolated or anticipated hours should not be included in the application and will not be considered during the review process. 

Upon application submission, applicants consent to the admission team's right to verify their preparatory experience. Unverifiable experience will not be considered.


Clinical Experience

We recommend that applicants complete a minimum of 500 hours clinical experience. Clinical experience includes direct patient care experience and health care experience, broadly defined. While all types of clinical experience will be considered in our review, direct patient care experience in a human medical setting is strongly preferred. Common examples of direct patient care experience include but are not limited to: athletic trainer, behavioral health technician, certified nursing assistant, clinical pharmacist, dietician, emergency medical technician, medical assistant, medical scribe, medical technician, military medic, nutritionist, paramedic, physical therapist, physical therapy aide, radiology technician, registered nurse, respiratory therapist, and sonographer. We will consider other health care experience as well, including volunteer experience. Applicants will have an opportunity to describe their clinical experience in their application.

There is no expiration date for clinical experience. Please note that clinical experience completed for academic credit or in a veterinary medical setting will be noted but not formally considered in our review. In addition, only clinical experiences that provide contact information for verification will be considered.


Research Experience

We encourage applicants to include relevant research experience, including publications, projects, and participation in clinical research settings, in their application. We especially welcome research experience that aligns with the mission and goals of our program, research that will support scholarly work within the program is highly desirable. 

There is no expiration date for research experience. Please note that research experience completed for academic credit will be noted but not formally considered in our review. In addtion, only research experiences that provide contact information for verification will be considered.


Volunteer Experience

We encourage applicants to include relevant volunteer experience in their application. We especially welcome volunteer experience that aligns with the mission and goals of our program. A demonstration of community service dedication is expected of all applicants. We give volunteer credit for service to patients, the poor, and the marginalized.

Volunteer experience must be completed within the last five years in order to be considered. Please note that volunteer experience older than five years or completed for academic credit will be noted but not formally considered in our review. In addition, only volunter experiences that provide contact information for verification will be considered. Shadowing will be noted but not formally considered in our review.