Special Masters Programs (SMPs): Are They Worth It?
/Who should enroll in a Special Masters Program? Learn how SMPs can make you a competitive applicant for medical school
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Part 1: Introduction
If you plan on applying to medical school, you surely know how many components go into a successful application. From excellent test scores to solid clinical experience, you have to be successful on many counts to be competitive in the med school admissions process. But, for some students, their undergraduate grades and experiences aren’t strong enough to be a competitive applicant. For these students, graduate credentials might be needed in order to improve their candidacy.
In this post, we’ll discuss Special Master’s Programs (SMPs), which offer premeds a chance to fill out their resumes and improve their chances of admissions. How do you know if you could benefit from an SMP? You might be a good candidate for an SMP if you:
Completed your premed requirements in undergrad and want to strengthen your academic profile before applying to med school
Are reapplying to medical school and want to improve your application for the next cycle
Are considering med school but are not ready and want to see how you’d manage this type of academic environment
Here, you’ll find tips and strategies to help you gain admission into SMPs. We’ve also compiled a list of notable SMPs and their application deadlines. Read below for information about how SMPs can support your journey toward becoming a physician.
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Part 2: What are Special Master’s Programs?
Special Master’s Programs refer to a class of graduate programs that prepare students for med school by enhancing their academic profiles in a variety of ways. SMPs might help you boost a low GPA, get more exposure to biomedical sciences (therefore demonstrating through grades and transcripts that you’re academically ready to earn your MD), conduct research, gain exposure to clinical opportunities, or pursue an area of study such as public health or global health that will influence your future specialization.
SMPs are generally affiliated with a specific medical school and focus on biomedical sciences. SMPs also often allow students to enroll in first-year med school courses; some programs directly enroll students in courses with MD students while other programs isolate SMP students or provide a mixture of both practices.
In addition to coursework, SMPs may simulate other aspects of medical school by facilitating clinical and research opportunities. Collectively, these aspects of SMPs give students—and med school admissions committees—the chance to compare their academic performance with MD students enrolled in medical school.
Although some students may attend SMPs en route to pharmaceutical or dental school, in this guide we’ll address applicants interested in ultimately attending MD programs.
Career benefits of attending an SMP
If you’re considering an SMP, you probably already understand just how hard it is to get into med school. In fact, the AAMC reports that 62,443 people applied to med schools during the 2021–2022 admissions cycle and only 22,666 eventually matriculated into a program (around 36%).
The playing field may even be more difficult for nontraditional applicants, including those who took time off after undergrad and are applying to med school years removed from academia.
Regardless of how you approach the med school starting block, one thing is for certain: grades and MCAT scores matter. Schools across the board are looking for students who can manage intense coursework and challenging exams. The average GPA and MCAT score for recent matriculants were 3.74 and 511.9, respectively—what happens if an applicant’s grades and test scores aren’t up to par?
This is where SMPs can factor into the equation. By providing students with the opportunity to generate an additional, better GPA, SMPs offer them a chance to enhance their med school applications. Many programs include one or more additional perks, such as MCAT test prep, committee letters for med school applications, and varying degrees of linkage with affiliated med schools.
Ultimately, SMP programs are committed to helping their current students and recent graduates gain admission into top MD programs across the country.
Potential downsides to attending an SMP
Because SMPs are both expensive and academically challenging, they’re commonly said to be “high-risk, high-reward.” In other words, students who work hard and earn strong grades in their SMP coursework can significantly improve their odds of gaining medical school acceptances. On the other hand, a lackluster performance in an SMP program can actually hurt your chances of getting into med school, plus waste tens of thousands of dollars along the way.
It should also be noted that if you have a strong GPA but a weak overall application due to a poor MCAT score, in most cases you’d be better off devoting a gap year to studying for the MCAT rather than enrolling in a costly SMP.
(Suggested reading: The Ideal MCAT Study Schedule)
Types of Special Master’s Programs
Because the term Special Master’s Programs serves as a catch-all, programs at different universities vary slightly with regard to size, curriculum, and the degree conferred. In most cases, SMP graduates receive a MS degree in biomedical or medical science. For instance, Duke refers to its program by the title “Master of Biomedical Science” while Georgetown refers to its program as the “Special Master’s Program in Physiology.” Nevertheless, both SMPs prepare students for med school by providing relevant coursework.
You may have difficulty tracking down a comprehensive list of SMPs—as demonstrated above, some schools don’t even use the term “Special Master’s Program” to refer to their program. This matter is made even more complicated due to the similarities between SMPs and post-baccalaureate programs. In lieu of a targeted database, you can check out AAMC’s Postbaccalaureate Premedical Database and set their search engine to account for “academic record-enhancing,” “graduate,” and “non-certificate” programs. This will lead you to many programs that fit under the SMP umbrella.
Additionally, some schools, such as Tufts University, offer dual-degree programs. These programs allow SMP students to simultaneously pursue an MBA, MPH, or related degree at the same institution or at a neighboring university.
SMP vs. post-bacc: What’s the difference?
There are many similarities between post-baccalaureate (post-bacc) programs and Special Master’s Programs, so it’s important to know the differences between them. You may see SMPs listed as a subcategory of post-bacc programs, which can sometimes be misleading.
Like SMPs, post-baccs offer students with a bachelor's degree the chance to take coursework in preparation for med school, thereby becoming more competitive in the med school admissions process.
The major difference between the two types of programs is that students traditionally seek out post-bacc degrees when they did not take premed courses as undergraduates. Consequently, work completed in post-bacc programs can adjust a student’s undergraduate GPA. And, unlike SMPs, which confer master’s degrees, post-baccs tend to bestow either certificates of completion or no formal award at all.
On the flip side, SMPs provide an additional GPA (i.e., separate from a student’s undergrad GPA) and, of course, confer master’s degrees.
So, how do you know if you should seek out a post-bacc or an SMP?
If you’re looking to enroll in premed courses for the first time or increase your undergraduate GPA, a post-bacc would be a better option for you than an SMP.
If you didn’t complete or didn’t perform well in prerequisite med school courses and you’d like to enhance your academic profile, you may be interested in both SMPs and post-baccs.
If you successfully completed your med school prerequisites but need a boost to your GPA in order to be competitive for med school, you should consider SMPs.
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Part 3: How to choose a Special Master’s Program
So you’re interested in Special Master’s Programs—what’s next? When researching SMPs, keep in mind what type of program may be right for you. Consider the following key aspects of SMPs.
SMP admissions requirements
Admission into some Special Master’s Programs is extremely tough. Across the board, schools tend to require that students have taken premed school courses similar to those taken by MD program applicants. (That’s why you’ll need to do a post-bacc if you haven’t taken any premed coursework yet.)
Some SMPs will have minimum undergraduate GPA requirements. Others require students to take the MCAT or GRE and have score cutoffs. Programs also range in terms of the application deadline and materials required to apply. Unlike med school, there is no AMCAS or governing body that facilitates the application process, which means you may have to write multiple personal statements that vary in length and monitor applications as they move through each school’s unique admissions process.
So, what GPA and MCAT score do you need to gain acceptance to an SMP? A rough rule of thumb is that you should have at least a 3.0 undergraduate GPA and a 500 MCAT to be in the running. Nevertheless, programs vary in their levels of selectivity, with the most prestigious SMPs boasting average stats well above these.
For instance, the average matriculant into Tufts’ MS in Biomedical Sciences has a 3.3 GPA and an MCAT score of 508. Georgetown’s SMP reports similar average stats at 3.3 and 510.
What if your GPA is below 3.0? The reality is that you probably won’t find success applying to many SMPs, particularly top programs like the ones we list at the end of this guide. Nevertheless, there are students each year who gain admission to SMPs with sub-3.0 GPAs, particularly those whose MCAT scores and other admissions factors are relatively strong.
Affiliation with medical schools
In the case of SMPs that are directly affiliated with a particular med school, it’s important to remember that acceptance to an SMP doesn’t guarantee acceptance into a MD program further down the line.
That doesn’t mean the affiliation is merely symbolic. SMP students are able to tap into the resources offered by a given med school. SMP students often take first-year med school courses with MD students, attend networking events, and develop mentorships with faculty, thereby enhancing their preparedness for med school and improving the MD program applications. Georgetown's SMP directly enrolls students in first-year med school classes at Georgetown University School of Medicine. At Rutgers University, students work on their capstone projects with faculty at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
Similar to select post-bacc programs, some SMPs, such as the University of Cincinnati’s and Rutgers University’s, offer formal linkage with MD or DO programs. This arrangement offers students the chance to begin the med school application process at MD programs affiliated with the SMP. If students want to enroll in med school in the fall immediately following their SMP, linkage programs can lower their chances of having to take a “glide year,” which refers to the gap year between an SMP and med school.
List of the best SMP programs
We’ve compiled a list of notable SMPs across the country. It’s important to note that some schools may not refer to their program as a “Special Master’s Program” for reasons mentioned above. Additionally, some schools may have similar graduate programs that also prepare students for aspects of med school. These complementary programs usually operate adjacent to SMPs or are housed within the same medical school or academic department.
Boston University's MS in Medical Sciences Program
Application deadline: Rolling admissions, though prospective students are encouraged to apply before June 1st
Brown University's Master of Science in Medical Sciences Program
Application deadline: June 1st
Drexel University's Intensive Medical Sciences Program
Application deadline: August 1st
Duke University’s Master of Biomedical Sciences Program
Application deadline: See website for details
Case Western Reserve University Master of Science in Medical Physiology Program
Application deadline: See website for details
University of Cincinnati’s Special Master’s Program in Physiology
Application deadline: June 30th
Eastern Virginia Medical School’s Medical Masters, MS Program
Application deadline: Rolling admissions
Georgetown University Special Master’s Program in Physiology
Application deadline: See website for details
University of Kentucky’s Master of Science in Medical Sciences Program
Application deadline: See website for details
Loyola University Chicago Master of Arts in Medical Sciences Program
Application deadline: See website for details
University of Pittsburgh Biomedical Sciences Program
Application deadline: June 1st
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Master of Science in Biomedical Science Program
Application deadline: June 1st
Rutgers University Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Master of Biomedical Science Program
Application deadline: See website for details
Tufts University’s Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences Program
Admissions deadline: July 15th
Tulane University's Masters Program in Pharmacology
Application deadline: July 31st
Length of program and enrollment options
The majority of SMPs are full-time, one-, or two-year programs. A limited number of schools, such as Case Western Reserve University, offer part-time or full-time enrollment opportunities. Given the length of MD programs, it’s important to consider how an SMP may factor into your extended academic plans and timeline. Taking a year to pursue a master’s degree might not be for everyone, particularly those who are ready to attend med school and have exemplary grades and MCAT scores.
It’s important to remember that taking a year to do an SMP doesn’t necessarily mean losing a year on your application timeline. You might get ahead on your timeline through the MCAT test prep, admissions interview prep, and other advising services offered by your program and therefore be one step ahead of med school applicants who may not have access to these resources or time to utilize them.
Tuition and fees
Like other graduate school programs, SMPs are expensive. Students also have to consider med school tuition costs further down the line. Luckily, SMPs are aware of these high costs and have robust financial aid departments, and many SMPs housed at public universities offer in-state tuition to students. Several SMPs also offer scholarship and fellowship opportunities in addition to financial aid. When applying to different SMPs, make sure you read the tuition and financial aid information listed on program websites.
Peer group
When considering SMPs, keep in mind that different programs will attract and foster different cohorts. For example, Eastern Virginia Medical School highlights its commitment to diversity and inclusion in its school community. The class sizes of these programs also vary, which can potentially affect the amount of individualized attention given to each student.
Some SMP students benefit from taking classes directly with first-year MD students, while others prefer to receive instruction among SMP students only. Other SMP programs may share resources with similar master’s programs on campus. Prospective students should consider what type of dynamic is best for them.
Coursework, research, and clinical experience
SMP curricula vary, depending on the ethos of the program and affiliated med school. Some, like Boston University, attempt to simulate or mirror a portion or more of a first-year med student’s academic experience.
Certain SMP programs, such as Drexel University, may offer video streaming courses or remote-learning opportunities. Another subset of programs, including Brown University, require students to complete a thesis or self-directed capstone project in order to graduate.
Some SMPs, including the University of Pittsburgh, encourage students to pursue biomedical shadowing and/or clinical experience in the field. These opportunities may be attractive to students who would like to boost their academic profiles and resumés for future med school applications.
Alternatively, some programs may be impartial toward students who want to pursue clinical or research opportunities. Their reasoning is that SMP students should focus on improving their academic records. Schools in this category may want students to have a significant amount of volunteer or clinical experience prior to enrollment.
Medical school application support
Specials Master’s Programs are well aware that your long term goal is to pursue med school. In addition to the linkage opportunities and med school affiliations mentioned above, SMPs include some type of med school application support, such as professional advising, MCAT test prep, or admissions interview prep.
Many SMPs also advertise robust student advising programming that encourages students to cultivate mentorships with faculty, career advisors, and other healthcare professionals. At Tufts University, students have access to premedical workshops to improve their med school applications and a team of advisors known as “academic partners.” Loyola University Chicago touts premedical advising from the start of the program through post-graduation.
Medical school acceptance rates
Given the unique makeup of Special Master’s Programs, it’s difficult to find hard numbers of how many graduates go on to be accepted into med schools. This situation is complicated by the fact that some graduates may opt to forgo applying to MD programs and pursue other career tracks related to biomedical sciences.
However, it is important to note that several schools such as Brown University and the University of Cincinnati, boast med school acceptance rates above 80 percent for recent graduates. That number is significantly higher than the national average of below 40 percent for med school applicants. Several programs, like Georgetown University and Boston University, make sure to highlight this data and information on their department websites.
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Part 4: Special Master’s Programs application strategies
Applications for Special Master’s Programs resemble med school applications. SMPs also require personal statements and supplementary essays to ensure candidates are a good fit for a particular program.
Our comprehensive medical school personal statement guide provides proven strategies for writing effective personal statements with this target audience in mind—university admissions officers and healthcare professionals. Personal statements for these readers require a captivating introduction, the retelling of an applicant’s personal history pertaining to medicine, and a conclusion that synthesizes key aspects of the statement itself.
Here, we’ll tailor some of that advice a little more to the distinct conditions of an SMP personal statement. Here are some key differences: SMP admissions officers know their programs aren’t the holy grail for applicants. They know they’re a step on the way to your future goal. In most cases, SMP admissions panels are reading a personal statement of an applicant gearing up to apply to medical school, which can be a confusing and frustrating place to be in life. This is especially true if the applicant either knows their grades aren’t good enough to apply to med school directly or previously applied to med school and was rejected.
For these reasons, it’s important to follow these rules when writing your SMP personal statement and any supplementary essays:
Make sure your personal statements and secondary essays are school-specific. Make sure that you tailor each personal statement to meet the criteria for each individual SMP program on your list. Some schools may require longer personal statements than others. Other programs may require additional essays or short responses. For more information about how to answer these supplementary essays, which resemble the kind you’ll see on your med school applications, check out our guide to medical school secondary essays.
Avoid harping on the less than favorable parts of your resume and academic transcript(s). SMP admissions officers have access to your entire application and know your end goal is acceptance into med school. This means they’re aware of your academic shortcomings and want to hear more about your personal story in the written parts of your application. It’s fine to mention the reasons why you may have struggled academically or during past attempts to get into med school, but make sure your reader knows you have a plan for the future, and weave those struggles into your narrative rather than sounding defensive about them.
Be clear about your aims and objectives. There’s no reason to shy away from your long-term goals. Feel free to summarize how you want your medical career to play out following your enrollment in an SMP. This is especially the case if the program you’re applying to has formal linkage with an MD program on your list. In other words, you don’t need to hide it if your eventual plan is to head to med school.
With these SMP-specific strategies in mind, always make sure you properly contextualize how your past experiences have prepared you to succeed in graduate school.
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Part 5: Special Master’s Program personal statement example
Let’s read this sample SMP personal statement:
Three years ago, my life changed on an average afternoon when my managing director looked at me and said, “I feel a pain in my chest, a really tight pain.” Then he fell forward in his seat, his arms splayed across a long table. We were in a conference room, ten floors above the streets of central Boston, and my first thought was about how long the paramedics would take to arrive and transport him to a hospital. While one of our colleagues called 911, I went to work, relying upon the skills I’d learned through my EMT training in college, to make my boss as comfortable as possible. Our consulting project didn’t matter anymore. In a split second I went from caring about financial deliverables to only caring about a person in pain. What did he need next? What would he need in the future? How could I better provide aid to him? I kept him calm and reassured him that help was coming. In the weeks and months that followed that moment, I realized I wanted to do more. It was time for me to get back on track and pursue med school.
Up until then as an adult, I’d run away from my dream of being a doctor by simply trying to balance it out with other desires in my life. This started in undergrad. As a small-town kid who’d attended a public high school, I arrived on my fancy New England campus wanting to prove myself among my rich peers. I needed a spot in their world. Sadly, this meant biting off more than I could chew academically, trying to focus on my pre-med coursework in addition to taking economics classes, rushing for a popular fraternity, and wanting to be a big man on campus.
As a result, I spread myself too thin when my cockiness got the best of me. Even though I spent one college summer shadowing a surgeon at my regional hospital and another summer doing clinical research, I let my grades slip out of my control. I made a lot of mistakes, including not entirely committing myself to what had always been my career goal of practicing sports medicine.
Suffice to say, I soon became a twenty-two year old reject from all the medical schools I’d applied to. But I thought to myself, hey, I don’t need to be a doctor right now. I was still immersed in a social scene wherein making money was the easy way to gain status. I also told myself that my career moves would benefit my family because I could be a breadwinner sooner rather than later. I told myself that healthcare consulting would quench my thirst to work in the medical world. All the while, I was still reading medical journals in my spare time and secretly using my work laptop to research med school programs. I also began to volunteer at a new health clinic in my neighborhood. This allowed me to dip into the medical world. Then the incident with my managing director happened, and I knew my life needed to change.
I’m interested in your Master in Biomedical Sciences program because I want to reacclimate myself to medicine as I continue my journey towards becoming a physician. Fortunately, I’m able to see how my experiences away from medicine have prepared me, in non-traditional ways, to be a doctor. For instance, my time spent working on healthcare consulting projects has given me an in-depth perspective on how doctors can support the creation of equitable healthcare systems. Additionally, my work in consulting has improved my interpersonal and communication skills.
I’m not that arrogant twenty-two year old anymore. Instead, I’m a young adult who wants to prove where I belong for the right reasons. On my road to medical school, I want to gain more clinical experience so I can better understand how the things I learn in classrooms relate to real life situations. I also know that my eventual calling is to work in a small town or rural area to serve the specific needs of specific communities. I’m eager to keep my head down, remain humble, and do the necessary work to get back on the career track that’s right for me.
Why does this personal statement work? Let’s dissect it to examine how the applicant presents himself to SMP admissions officers.
First and foremost, it’s important to mention that he’s aware of the bigger picture: he failed to get into med school on his first attempt and wants to try again. Honesty is the core principle for this personal statement, which allows the reader to empathize with the applicant.
Here are some additional highlights:
He knows what he needs from an SMP. The applicant wants to enhance his academic profile. Although this isn’t said outright, readers infer that his undergraduate GPA isn’t strong enough for the med schools on his list. And, on a deeper level, the personal statement implies that he needs institutional support to continue his journey toward med school. An entire paragraph discusses how he was a busy-body as an undergraduate and that his grades suffered because of this decision. Still, he takes responsibility for the past. He’s pursuing SMPs to refresh his knowledge base and improve his study habits.
He’s aware of his strengths for future med school applications. The applicant quickly references his research and volunteer experience with relative ease in a paragraph that discusses his academic shortcomings. This suggests to the reader that these aspects of his resume aren’t the problem when med school applications are concerned.
He embraces his time away from medicine. The applicant clearly states how his non-medical professional experiences will make him a better physician. Instead of seeing these experiences as a liability, he embraces the skills they provided him.
He exemplifies qualities physicians need to be successful. Starting in paragraph one, the applicant exemplifies compassion, composure and empathy. These are character traits that will make him a good physician. He follows up the opening story by mentioning his volunteer work later on. Furthermore, a major thread throughout the entire piece is the applicant’s grit and determination to not give up on his dream. Taken into consideration together, the aspects of his personality show why he’ll be a successful physician.
Although writing a SMP personal statement can feel daunting, remember that programs want you to be honest about your strengths and weaknesses. This way, they’ll be able to better assist you on your journey toward medical school.
Final thoughts
For prospective medical students with less than ideal GPAs, Special Master’s Programs can offer the opportunity to strengthen their application profiles in advance of the competitive medical school admissions process. Though many SMPs are themselves difficult to get into, you can give yourself the best odds of admission by tailoring your personal statements and other essays to reflect how each program you apply to will help you towards your ultimate goal of practicing medicine. Then, plan to work hard and take advantage of your program’s resources and academic opportunities in order to prove that you’re cut out for your dream medical school.
About the Author
Dr. Shirag Shemmassian is the Founder of Shemmassian Academic Consulting and one of the world's foremost experts on college admissions. Over the past 15 years, he and his team have helped thousands of students get into top programs like Harvard, Stanford, and MIT using his exclusive approach.
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Appendix: Additional SMP programs
We’ve done the footwork and have compiled a list of other SMP programs linked to medical schools. Remember that the following list is not necessarily exhaustive since med school requirements and affiliations can change from cycle to cycle. As of December 2023, the following SMPs have linkage to medical schools: