Courses and Programs

The Medical Education Program

At the University of Louisville School of Medicine, an educational program has been developed that provides each student with the basic knowledge, skills, and attitudes considered essential to all 21st-century physicians, while also offering sufficient flexibility to allow the effective development of each student’s individual abilities and interests. The three major components of the program are:

Core Curriculum

The core curriculum, spanning the four-year course of study, emphasizes understanding concepts and general principles. It provides vertical and horizontal integration of the sciences so that information in one block of study reinforces ideas and builds upon concepts developed in another.

Year One begins with the normal anatomic structures and their embryologic development along with learning clinical examination skills, and then explores the molecular basis of life and molecular mechanisms of disease, infection, and immunity. Year Two investigates the normal cellular structure and function, the pathology and pathophysiology of disease, and treatment for each major organ system. The Introduction to Clinical Medicine course runs throughout Years One and Two and teaches communication and humanism skills, medical history-taking, physical exam skills, foundations of medical ethics, patient-centered care, interprofessional team care, healthcare systems, and evidence-based medicine.

The core curriculum for the last two years follows a track system of clerkship and elective rotations that exposes students to the major clinical fields of medicine. Required third-year clerkships include Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Neurology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, and Surgery. As part of the Family Medicine clerkship, students complete a four-week rotation at rural or urban AHEC sites to gain experience in caring for patients located in underserved areas of the Commonwealth. The fourth-year schedule includes a sub-internship, an intensive care rotation, a palliative care rotation, and at least 28 weeks of elective opportunities.

Additionally, select students have the opportunity to complete their entire third and fourth years of clinical training at the Baptist Health Deaconess Campus (Trover Campus) in Madisonville, KY.

Pre-clinical Electives

Pre-clinical electives are not required; however, there are several offered for credit. The purpose of preclinical electives is to allow each student to extend his/her education in certain areas of scientific knowledge. The electives make it possible to construct a program of medical education that best meets the needs, abilities, and goals of the individual student. Electives can occur in the local or global community and include clinical experiences with under-served populations or global experiences. Students also are permitted to take classroom courses as electives in divisions of the University of Louisville other than the School of Medicine, class schedule permitting. In addition to the courses offered, students with a research interest are permitted to participate in an approved research activity for credit. Elective courses constitute an integral part of the student’s total program in medical school.

Clinical Electives

Third-Year students are offered six weeks to explore careers in sub-specialty areas of medicine that are not required within the core third-year clinical clerkships. Fourth-Year students are offered an additional 28 weeks of electives. Of those 28 weeks, approximately 12-14 of those weeks are spent in electives directly related to the student’s choice of residency. Virtually every member of the full-time clinical faculty participates in electives, as do many members of the basic sciences faculty. Students may select an intensive exposure to any of the clinical areas or a research experience in any of the basic science or clinical areas.

For more information about the medical education program mission and objectives, curriculum, and curriculum overview, visit:https://catalog.louisville.edu/professional/medical-bulletin/courses/.

Dual Degree Programs

MD/PhD
The PhD can be earned from a number of participating departments. A wide variety of research experiences are available in top-flight research laboratories. The program's size provides great flexibility in designing a research program and access to the best laboratories on campus.

Questions, contact the Co-Directors: Dr. Maxwell Boakye, MD, MBA, FACS, FAANS, at (502) 407 -3276, or Dr. Kenneth Palmer, PhD, at (502) 852-5773, or via email at mdphd@louisville.edu.

MD/MBA
With the healthcare industry rapidly changing, strengthen your depth of business operations with the dual UofL MD/MBA program. UofL Medical School students are eligible to participate upon completion of their second or third year of medical school, or as a UofL Medical School alumnus. Dual degree-seeking students must gain admission to both programs independently. As a dual-degree student, all business electives are waived in the MBA program.

Note: MCAT scores are accepted in lieu of GMAT. Whether your career goals include managing your own practice, developing and marketing biomedical discoveries and medical devices, working to enhance the delivery of outstanding clinical care or improving the health care system, the MD/MBA dual degree will serve you well.

More information is available at: https://medicine.louisville.edu/academics-programs/dual-degree-programs/md-mba-dual-degree-program.

Questions, contact: School of Medicine – In Kim, MD, MBA at: in.kim@louisville.edu. College of Business – Melanie Higgs, MBA Admissions Director, College of Business, UL at: melanie.higgs@louisville.edu or by phone at (502) 852-2169.

MD/MPH

The MD–MPH dual degree equips future physician-leaders with the skills to bridge clinical medicine and public health. Students gain expertise in epidemiology, biostatistics, health data analysis, and evidence-based research while addressing the social determinants of health and advancing health equity. Through training in study design, data interpretation, and policy translation, graduates are prepared to design impactful interventions, inform health policy, and enhance population health outcomes. Enrolled MD Students may earn dual credit with a 12-hour certificate program and /or a master's in public health

First-year medical school students will apply to the Graduate Certificate in Public Health Training during Summer 1 term (all courses are online and complete within Summer 1 term)
Students wishing to complete their MD-MPH will apply to the MPH program during medical school year 3
Students will then complete the MPH program during a gap year between medical school years 3 and 4

All MD-MPH students will be assigned to the Public Health Research concentration (the MPH concentration for the MD-MPH program). Questions, please contact Dr. Sheridan Langford at sheridan.langford@louisville.edu or Brian Guinn at brian.guinn@louisville.edu

MD/MA in Applied Philosophy- Healthcare Ethics

Enrolled medical students must be admitted to both programs and be advised. They are not formally admitted into the dual degree program until advisors in both units have signed off on the flight plan. The programs will be meshed as follows:
Students will take one year away from the MD program, either before the first year or after the third year, to enroll intensively in the MA program.
ICM 1 & 2 will count as one 3-hour elective toward the MA. One BETH core course will count as a non-clinical elective toward the MD.
Additional accommodations may be made on a case-by-case basis
Students will work with the MA program director to develop an individualized capstone internship.

Questions, please contact Dr. Emily Noonan at emily.noonan@louisville.edu or Dr. Laura Freeman at laura.freeman@ louisville.edu