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Review the sections below for information regarding MD Program policies at the Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine at the University of Utah.

    Acceptance to the Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine at the University of Utah is contingent upon:

    • Successful completion of all prerequisite coursework and degree(s) as stated in an applicant's application materials. All degrees and prerequisite courses must be completed by matriculation, with official transcripts from all attended institutions submitted upon acceptance. 
    • Satisfactory results of a criminal background check. Background checks will be performed via the AAMC-Facilitated Background Check Service after an offer of acceptance has been extended and must be completed prior to matriculation. The purpose of this policy is to protect property and to help ensure a safe environment for patients, employees, visitors, and the general public.
    • Accepted students are also required to complete all pre-matriculation and new student onboarding requirements as communicated by SFESOM staff. These items may include but are not limited to: Completion of the University of Utah Graduate School Application, proof of health insurance, immunizations, and campus policy trainings. 

    Acceptance by the University of Utah Office of Graduate Admissions is contingent upon: 

    • Successful completion of the U of U Graduate School Application
    • Verification of a completed baccalaureate degree.

    The Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine at University of Utah Office of Admissions does not determine residency for tuition purposes. 

    The University of Utah Office of Graduate Admissions determines if a student will pay in-state or out-of-state tuition after an acceptance offer to SFESOM has been extended, based on an individual's residency information provided in the Graduate Application process.

    Students are encouraged to read the SFESOM institutional residency policy for additional information. 

    To learn more about residency for seat allocation during time of application, visit our SFESOM Residency page.

    The Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine policy states that accepted applicants are expected to matriculate into to medical school in August of the year of application.

    Circumstances for which a deferral may be granted include, but are not limited to:

    • Serious illness of applicant or immediate family member
    • Family hardship
    • Meaningful educational opportunity
    • Completion of military service

    Applicants requesting a deferment must email the Associate Dean for Admissions at md.admissions@hsc.utah.edu prior to May 1 of their acceptance year.

    The request should include an explanation of the reason for the deferral, and additional information or documentation may be required before making a final determination. The Associate Dean may consult with the Admissions Committee for consideration of each request.

    Deferment may be granted for the period of one academic year, and may be extended upon written request to the Associate Dean for Admissions.

    All decisions by the Associate Dean for Admissions and Admissions Committee are final. If a deferral request is granted, applying to another medical school during the period of deferment will result in withdrawal of the initial offer of acceptance and loss of position at the Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine.

    Those approved for deferral will be required to submit a new AMCAS application for the year they will be entering medical school, due by October 1 of the same year. 

    If the applicant does not submit their AMCAS application by this deadline, their acceptance may be withdrawn.

    Applicants on the waitlist may be offered acceptance up until the first day of school. 

    Application updates for waitlisted applicants will not be accepted. 

    Applicants who decline their waitlist offer will be withdrawn from further consideration to the MD Program. 

    Each year more qualified individuals apply to our school than we can accommodate, resulting in a large number of applicants who will reapply to medical school. 

    SFESOM recommends that those planning to reapply review our admissions requirements, continue participating in activities and experiences to strengthen their application from the previous year, and meet with their premedical advisor for additional recommendations and guidance.

    The Admissions Committee will not consider applicants who have previously matriculated, been dismissed, are on probation, on hold, or who are under suspension at another LCME accredited allopathic medical school, including the Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine at the University of Utah. 

    The Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine at the University of Utah (SFESOM) is not currently accepting transfer requests due to the onboarding of our new Mission-Driven MD program, which will benefit our state, students, and patients.

    If you are interested in an away rotation at the SFESOM, we encourage you to view the Course Catalog in the AAMC’s Visiting Student Learning Opportunities (VSLO) and regularly check this website for the most up-to-date information. 

    The SFESOM recognizes that there are certain minimum technical standards for physicians which must be met, with or without reasonable accommodation. Consistent with the recommendations of the 1979 AAMC Special Advisory Panel Report on Technical Standards for Medical School Admission, the University of Utah School of Medicine has established Technical Standards for the admission, retention, and graduation of medical students that are consistent with its education, research, and service objectives. In addition to admissions, the technical standards must be examined and enforced in the advancement and graduation processes. These standards represent the consensus view of the SFESOM’s broadly representative EPPC of the technical standards consistent with its education, research and service missions. 

    Technical Standards

    Because the M.D. degree signifies that the holder is a physician prepared for entry into the practice of medicine within postgraduate training programs, it follows that graduates must have the knowledge and skills to function in a broad variety of clinical situations and to render a wide spectrum of patient care.

    Candidates for the M.D. degree must have a level of somatic sensation, vision, hearing, exteroceptive sense (touch, pain and temperature), proprioceptive sense (position, pressure, movement, stereognosis and vibratory) and motor function, or the functional equivalent with or without reasonable accommodation, to permit them to carry out the activities described in the sections that follow (I-V). They must be able to consistently, quickly, and accurately integrate all information received by whatever sense(s) employed, and they must have the intellectual ability to learn, integrate, analyze and synthesize data.

    A candidate for the M.D. degree must have abilities and skills of five varieties including observation, communication, motor, conceptual, integrative and quantitative, and behavioral and social. Technological compensation can be made for some impairment in certain of these areas but a candidate should be able to perform in a reasonably independent manner with or without reasonable accommodation.

    1. Observation: The candidate must be able to acquire information from demonstrations and experiments in the basic sciences, including but not limited to physiologic and pharmacologic demonstrations in animals, microbiologic cultures, and microscopic studies of microorganisms and tissues in normal and pathologic states. A candidate must be able to assess and comprehend the condition of all patients assigned to them for examination, diagnosis, and treatment. Observation necessitates use of the visual, auditory, somatic, and olfactory senses, or the functional equivalent.
    1. Communication: A candidate should be able to speak, to hear and to observe patients in order to elicit information, describe changes in mood, activity and posture, and perceive nonverbal communications. A candidate should be able to communicate effectively and sensitively with patients. Communication includes not only speech but reading and writing. The candidate should be able to communicate effectively and efficiently in oral and written form, with or without reasonable accommodation, with all members of the health care team.
    2. Motor: Candidates should have sufficient motor function to elicit information from patients by palpation, auscultation, percussion, and other diagnostic maneuvers. A candidate should be able to conduct basic laboratory tests and perform diagnostic procedures and tests and interpret their results. A candidate should be able to execute motor movements reasonably required to provide general care and emergency treatment to patients. Examples of emergency treatment reasonably required of physicians are cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the administration of intravenous medication, the application of pressure to stop bleeding, the opening of obstructed airways, the suturing of simple wounds, and the performance of simple obstetrical maneuvers. Such actions require coordination of both gross and fine muscular movements, equilibrium and functional use of the senses of touch and vision, or the functional equivalent.
    3. Intellectual-Conceptual, Integrative and Quantitative Abilities: These abilities include measurement, calculation, reasoning, analysis, and synthesis. Problem solving, the critical skill demanded of physicians, requires all of these intellectual abilities. In addition, the candidate should be able to comprehend three-dimensional relationships and to understand the spatial relationships of structures.
    4. Behavioral and Social Attributes: A candidate must possess the emotional health required for full utilization of their intellectual abilities, the exercise of good judgment, the prompt completion of all responsibilities attendant to the diagnosis and care of patients, and the development of mature, sensitive and effective relationships with patients. Candidates should be able to tolerate physically taxing workloads and to function effectively under stress. They should be able to adapt to changing environments, to display flexibility and to learn to function in the face of uncertainties inherent in the clinical problems of many patients. Compassion, integrity, concern for others, interpersonal skills, interest and motivation are all personal qualities that should be assessed during the admissions and education processes.