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MD Program

Alpha Omega Alpha

About AOA

Alpha Omega Alpha, founded in 1902, is a medical honor society dedicated to the belief that we can improve care for all by recognizing high educational achievement, honoring gifted teaching, encouraging the development of leaders in academia and the community, supporting the ideals of humanism, and promoting service to others. Election to Alpha Omega Alpha signifies a lasting commitment to scholarship, leadership, professionalism, and service. Membership in the society confers recognition of someone’s dedication to the profession and art of healing. UNC’s chapter of AOA was founded in 1954 and is proud to induct new medical students, residents, fellows, faculty, and alumni into the chapter each year.

Application Process

Election into AOA is conducted twice a year, with Spring elections falling near the end of Application Phase and Fall elections falling near the end of August/beginning of September prior to the deadline for residency applications. Students will be notified via email by AOA leadership when the next election cycle is approaching. There are three components to the AOA application:

  1. A standard anonymized CV
    • A template CV is provided when elections open each term. Applicants who do not follow this format risk being ineligible for that election cycle. There should NOT be any identifying information on the CV such as undergraduate institution, graduate institution, or applicant name.
    • Only activities/accomplishments conducted since matriculating to medical school are permitted on an applicant’s CV.
  2. Essays
    • Applicants will respond to 3 required prompts. These essays are an opportunity for applicants to expand upon certain experiences during medical school. Essay prompts are subject to change each election cycle.
    • Responses should not exceed 150 words for each essay. Essays over the word count may receive a lower score.
  3. Signed consent form
    • This consent form gives AOA leadership permission to access students’ grades and professional record.
    • Students who have any professional concerns or a failing grade during Application Phase are NOT eligible to be elected into AOA.

Election Process

Applicants are reviewed by a committee of faculty and students in a three-phase process. The faculty on the committee are chosen each year from UNC SOM faculty, fellows, and residents who have previously been elected to AOA. The students on the committee are medical students who are currently members of UNC’s AOA chapter.

During the first phase, one faculty member and one medical student will independently review an applicant’s CV using a standardized rubric. These reviewers evaluate the applicant based on scholarly activities, leadership capabilities, and a record of service to the school and community. The evaluation criteria has been revised to also include a focus on activities that demonstrate a commitment to supporting underserved groups. Should evaluations of the reviewers differ significantly, AOA leadership will conduct a reconciliatory review of the evaluations to identify any pertinent discrepancies to score candidates appropriately.

In the second phase, essay responses will be reviewed. Once again, one faculty member and one medical student will independently review the applicant’s essay using a standardized rubric. During this phase, Application Phase grades will also be added to a student’s application, but their contribution is only one component to an applicant’s overall score.

Applicants are also evaluated based on their ethical standards and demonstrated professionalism. Any applicant with a record of a failing clerkship grade and/or professionalism offenses may be removed from consideration for AOA by the election committee and/or the Dean of Student Affairs.

In the third and final phase, the highest scoring applicants are evaluated by the election committee.These applicants are presented holistically to the group and voted on. The applicants with the most votes are nominated for membership.

Resident/Fellow, Faculty, and Alumni Nominations

UNC’s AOA chapter may also elect Residents/Fellows, Faculty, and Alumni who have never been previously elected to AOA. The number of nominations is dependent on the size of the next graduating class. In previous election cycles, we have been able to nominate 25 residents/fellows, 10 faculty, and 5 alumni in a year. Nominated parties will be evaluated for academic and professional achievement, leadership, professionalism, service, teaching, and research. Elections for Residents/Fellows, Faculty, and Alumni only occur once a year in the spring. Eligibility requirements are included below.

Resident/Fellow:

  • Must have completed their first year of residency at time of induction
  • Must show commitment to and excellence in teaching medical students

Faculty:

  • Must be UNC School of Medicine faculty
  • Do not need an MD, but must have a post-doctoral degree (PhD, PharmD, EdD, DO, MD)
  • Faculty who receive no direct monetary compensation from the school of medicine but teach students are eligible

Alumni

  • Must have graduated from UNC with a Doctor of Medicine degree
  • Must have been graduated for 10+ years

FAQs

Elections for AOA occur twice a year – once in the spring and once in the fall. The Spring elections typically coincide with the end of Application Phase. Fall elections typically occur in late summer/early fall prior to the due date for residency applications.
Students are eligible to apply to AOA in the spring after Application Phase and the fall immediately prior to graduation. Students must have completed all requirements for Application Phase in order to be considered for induction. Students must have finalized grades for all rotations at the time of submission.

Students who have a failure in a rotation or professional concerns are ineligible to be inducted into AOA. However, students do not otherwise need to meet a specific grade threshold to apply.

Students are not eligible to apply to AOA during their Leave of Absence (LOA). Students may apply in the spring after completing Application Phase immediately prior to their LOA. They may apply again after returning from their LOA in the fall immediately prior to their intended graduation year.
Students may apply to AOA twice, once in the spring and once in the fall.
We induct up to 20% of the graduating class.
Students are only eligible to apply to AOA after they complete Application Phase requirements. If a student has not completed Application Phase requirements by Spring elections, they are typically eligible to apply to AOA in the fall.
Absolutely! Students are highly encouraged to apply to AOA again in the fall if they are still eligible.
Students can only apply to ONE spring cycle.

Additionally, if a student has not previously applied to a spring cycle, but is set to graduate for that same spring, they are not eligible to apply. For example, Student A is graduating in Spring of 2026. Student A did NOT apply to the AOA Spring 2025 cohort. As such, Student A would like to apply to the AOA Spring 2026 cohort. However, because Student A is graduating in the Spring of 2026, they are not eligible to apply.

Activities that were started prior to matriculation but continued during your medical education are permitted on your CV. However, you should only include the hours dedicated to the activity while enrolled in medical school.
Yes, work done as a part of a MPH, MBA, PhD, or research year during an LOA is permitted on your CV.
UNC’s AOA chapter seeks to elect well-rounded candidates who demonstrate a longitudinal commitment to research, scholarship, leadership, service and professionalism. While AOA is an academic honor society, grades are only one component of a student’s overall application. The election committee seeks to holistically evaluate applicants on the totality of their accomplishments.
Membership into AOA is an honorary achievement that is well recognized across the medical and academic fields. Members can include this honor on their CVs, resumes, and residency applications.

Members of UNC’s chapter are expected to uphold this legacy with their continued efforts to support UNC’s community. One way we ask members to support our community is by participating on the election committee for future AOA cohorts.

If you have any additional questions or concerns, please contact AOA leadership.

AOA Co-Presidents: Avani Desai and Christina Toval (AOAPresidents@med.unc.edu)
AOA Faculty Director: Lauren Kilpatrick Leeper (lauren_kilpatrick@med.unc.edu)