FAQs

During the Application Phase (third year of medical school), students spend 12 months completing core clinical clerkships in psychiatry, surgery, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, internal medicine, and family medicine. Students can complete the Application Phase in one of six sites, each of which offers a distinct but comparable experience. Regardless of the site assignment, all students will be prepared for Individualization Phase and future career endeavors. For more information on the site profiles for Central (Cross-Regional/Raleigh/Greensboro Regional), Charlotte, Asheville, and Wilmington, visit Campus Assignment and Profiles.

At UNC, we deliver about half of our clinical education in our highly regarded Area Health Education Center (AHEC) sites all over the state. We send students to clerkships at Moses Cone Hospital (Greensboro), Carolinas Medical Center (Charlotte), New Hanover Regional Medical Center (Wilmington), Nash General Hospital (Rocky Mount), Mission Memorial Hospital (Asheville), and Wake Medical Center (Raleigh), among others. Apartment-style or dormitory-style housing is provided, and it would be advantageous to have a car to get to the various locations during AHEC rotations.

The UNC School of Medicine website provides a comprehensive overview of the outstanding educational, clinical service, scholarly, and extracurricular activities available to students.

No, we encourage those with questions to visit our virtual office hours.

On occasion, our medical students may be able to give an in-person tour, providing their schedule will allow. You are welcome to visit the campus and, if you would like to communicate with one of our medical students, you may contact them at uncsomrecruitment@med.unc.edu

The Shortage Designation Branch in the HRSA Bureau of Health Professions National Center for Health Workforce Analysis develops shortage designation criteria and uses them to decide whether or not a geographic area or population group is a health professional shortage area or a medically underserved area or population.

A bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university in the United States or Canada is required for admission. If your bachelor’s degree was completed elsewhere, a Master’s degree or postbaccalaureate work within the U.S. or Canada with at least 30 hours of AMCAS designated BCPM coursework with letter grades is required. Students are encouraged to pursue one or more scholarly interests in depth during their undergraduate years, but coursework must demonstrate proficiency in the natural sciences. A student who earns a degree in less than four years may apply but should recognize that understanding the human condition and developing good judgment require experience. Without unusual qualifications, questions about breadth of education, maturity, experience, and motivation may put such an applicant at a disadvantage.

For more information about our prerequisites and requirements for admission, click here.

In-person classwork is strongly preferred to online classwork. A substantial majority of the coursework needs to be in person. Contact the Office of Admissions if you are considering utilizing online courses for degree completion.

The undergraduate major is the foundation of your intellectual life as an adult. You should major in a subject that stimulates and challenges you. There is no preferred major for admission, nor is an effort made to select science or non-science majors over the other.

MCAT scores are valid for three (3) AMCAS application cycles. For a breakdown of MCAT validity timeframes, click here.

No, CLEP credits are not accepted for required classes. For more information on prerequisites, click here.

For a current list of immunization requirements, click here.

The School of Medicine does not offer a post-baccalaureate program, but the prerequisite science courses are available through the Division of Continuing Studies (800-862-5669 or 919-962-1134).

Applications are available online through the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS) or by calling 202-828-0600.

Your AMCAS application must be submitted by October 1st.

The current mean cumulative GPA for science coursework is 3.79. The current mean cumulative GPA for non-science coursework is 3.66. Weightings are not used in the evaluation process, as each application we consider is given a holistic review.

The average MCAT score for the matriculating class is 512.

Applications are considered from students in the last year of their graduate program. Acceptance into our medical school is contingent upon successful completion of their program prior to matriculation in August. The exception for this category are the individuals who are enrolled in a natural science graduate program to strengthen their GPA because they do not meet our minimum criteria. The individuals in this category will need to complete at least 30 credit hours or more in their graduate program before applying to UNC School of Medicine. For more information, visit our admissions requirements.

No. We require all accepted applicants who will matriculate into our program to submit all final, official transcripts from any regionally accredited  U.S. or Canadian institutions attended by July 1 of the matriculating year. If a degree was earned, the date conferred must be included on your transcript.

Yes, we do. Reapplicants are limited to an initial application plus three reapplications, for a total of four applications.

UNC School of Medicine has instituted an indefinite pause on medical student transfers until further notice.

We look for applicants who demonstrate a genuine commitment to serving others, which is a core value of the medical profession. Meaningful service to your community and taking opportunities to step outside your comfort zone help us understand your motivation to care for, engage with, and elevate those in need and your ability to connect with people from all different backgrounds. We also highly value research experience, which reflects your ability to think critically, follow through on complex projects, and engage in scientific inquiry. Finally, healthcare experience—especially direct patient care—is essential as applicants are expected to demonstrate some knowledge of the demands of a medical career. For this reason, longitudinal direct patient contact, one-on-one care giving within a health care setting, and exposure to the health care system are desirable. These experiences show that you’ve taken steps to understand the realities of clinical work and are prepared for the responsibilities of a career in medicine.  The decision on how to spend time preparing for medical school must be made by the individual in the context of his or her own goals, and many of our students pursue activities that inspire them personally, professionally, and artistically prior to matriculating to the UNC SOM.

One who seeks to be a successful physician embodies many qualities beyond those reflected in numerical scores. It is difficult to assess qualities relating to commitment, motivation, and empathy, but interviews, letters of recommendation, and essays all help to shape the admissions decision.

The School of Medicine accepts students from the full range of regionally accredited post-secondary institutions.

The total number of required letters is three (3). Applicants may provide two (2) optional letters, for a total of five (5).

After your interview, the Admissions Committee will meet to review and discuss your application. Applications are under continuous review, which allows for admissions to be made throughout the interview season (rolling admissions) until the class is filled. We will begin releasing offers of acceptance on or after October 15th, and subsequently throughout the interviewing season. Typically, we will be done with all final decisions, including wait list invitations, no later than the first week in April. Please be patient, as we will do our best to update you on your status as soon as possible.

Generally, around 7,000 apply, around 750 are interviewed, and 230 matriculate into our medical school. Typically, we admit between 3-5%.

For more information about our students, click here.

The average MCAT score for the matriculating class is 512.

If you decide to withdraw your application from consideration, or if you are offered an acceptance in the future and decide not to matriculate at UNC School of Medicine, please use the withdrawal or decline acceptance form found on the status page in your applicant portal. The deadline for notifying medical schools that you do not intend to matriculate is April 30, or the next business day if the deadline is on a weekend.

Interviews will be conducted September through January, and the interview days are on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. Our interviews are conducted virtually.

If you are ill and not able to make it to your scheduled interview, please contact us at admissions@med.unc.edu.

Please contact AMCAS directly at 202-828-0600. Please do not contact us to make these changes, as they can only be updated through AMCAS.

International students who are permanent residents of the United States can apply as a North Carolina resident if they qualify. Non-US citizens with visa types F-1, H-1, J, etc., are not eligible to apply as NC residents (but may apply as a non-resident) and are not eligible for federal loans or grants. If accepted into our medical school program, you will be responsible for the funding of your four-year medical school education.

For more information about financial aid, click here.

We do consider and offer admission to international applicants, but we do not have a special category for international applicants, as they are considered out-of-state applicants and are evaluated by the same criteria as our U.S. out-of-state applicants. If your bachelor’s degree was completed outside the U.S. or Canada, a Master’s degree or postbaccalaureate work within the U.S. or Canada with at least 30 hours of AMCAS designated BCPM coursework with letter grades is required; UNC School of Medicine requires that you complete all of the prerequisites at a regionally accredited college or university within the U.S. or Canada prior to applying through AMCAS, and your grades must be in letter-grade format.

For more information on the academic criteria for admission, click here.

We do. However, as a state-assisted institution, we give preference to North Carolina residents. Approximately 15-18% of matriculating students each year are non-residents.

The UNC policy for determination of in-state status for students can be found at https://registrar.unc.edu/residency/. You must go to the North Carolina Residency Determination Service (RDS), which can be accessed at https://www.ncresidency.org/. The purpose of the RDS process is to determine a student’s eligibility for the in-state tuition rate. If you are accepted, it is necessary to complete residency determination on this site in order to establish eligibility for in-state tuition and maximize your eligibility for financial aid.

MD/PhD
The University of North Carolina School of Medicine, in conjunction with the Graduate School, offers an MD/PhD program to exceptional students who seek to combine clinical medicine with a career in biomedical research and/or academic medicine. For more information about the MD/PhD program, click here or contact mdphd@med.unc.edu
MD/MPH
Master of Public Health degrees are offered through several departments and programs in the School of Public Health. Each year, 20-30 students earn MPH degrees in Epidemiology, Health Policy and Administration, Health Care and Prevention, or Maternal and Child Health. Typically, students who pursue a public-health degree take a leave of absence from their medical studies for at least one year, usually between the third and fourth years of medical school. For more information about the MD-MPH Program, click here.
MD/MBA
UNC medical students have the opportunity to earn these two degrees in five years. For more information about the MD-MBA Program, click here.
MD/JD
We do not have a formal program; however, in the past, students have earned both degrees independently.