School of Medicine

Programs

 

MD/PhD Program

MD/MPH  Dual Degree Program

School of Public Health

Integrated OMS MD Program

Primary Care Program

Summer Research

Honors Program

 

Early Decision Program for the 2026 Entering Freshman Class

 

The LSU School of Medicine offers the Early Decision Program (EDP). If an applicant wants to apply for EDP, certain rules must be followed.

1. The earliest date to apply to AMCAS is June 1, 2025.
2. The latest date to apply to AMCAS is August 1, 2025.
3. The latest date to complete file in Admissions Office is normally September 1, 2025.
4. The MCAT must be taken allowing time for the scores to be on record by September 1, 2025.
5. Ordinarily, only applicants with a 3.6 grade point average in the sciences and at least a 75th percentile on each section of the MCAT are considered. However, all  applicants are eligible to apply for EDP.
6. The applicant may apply only to the LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans and may not apply to any other schools prior to being informed of LSU's decision. The applicant will be informed of this decision on or before October 1, 2025.
7. If the applicant is accepted, the applicant must accept and he/she may not apply to any other medical schools.  If the applicant is rejected or placed on hold, then he/she may apply to other medical schools.  If the applicant is not accepted Early Decision, the applicant then goes into our regular applicant pool.
8. If the applicant who is accepted violates the terms of the acceptance, he/she is considered to have committed an irregularity and other schools to which he/she applies are informed.

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MD/PhD Program

The MD/PhD program of LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans was established to offer the opportunity for students to train in a program tailored to their individual research interests and medicine. Through this program, students who have an interest in research and academic medicine will combine the curriculum of the School of Medicine with the curriculum of the School of Graduate Studies. Over seven or more years, individuals in the program meet the degree requirements of both the Schools of Graduate Studies and Medicine, thus acquiring the knowledge, skills and experience to begin careers in exciting areas of medical and translational research. It is expected that students graduating from the program will develop into academic physician scientists obtaining faculty positions in basic science or clinical departments in schools of medicine. MD/PhDs will provide leadership in academic medicine and in research related to medicine and human welfare. Acceptance into this combined program must be approved by the School of Medicine Admissions Committee and the MD/PhD Admissions Committee.  Accepted students are given a tuition waiver throughout the MD and PhD portions of the program and a stipend during Graduate School and the last two years of Medical School. If at any time during the student's tenure at LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans, the requirements for the MD/PhD program are not satisfied, the student will be required to reimburse the school for any tuition he or she may have received while enrolled here as a medical student.

MD/PhD applicants must be accepted into the MD program before being considered for the combined degree. Please Note: The Deadline to apply for the MD/PhD Program through AMCAS is November 1, 2025; The Secondary Application and letters of recommendation must be completed by December 1, 2025.  Applicants are encouraged to complete their applications as early as possible in order to be considered for an interview for the School of Medicine.  MD/PhD applicants must be interviewed by the School of Medicine Admissions Committee by the end of February in order to be considered for an interview in early March by the Ph.D. Sub-committee.

Additional information can be obtained by calling (504) 568-6197 or by visiting the website at http://graduatestudies.lsuhsc.edu/md_phd/

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MD/MPH Dual Degree Program

Doctor of Medicine/Master of Public Health

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Integrated OMS MD Program

 

The school accepts 4 students into this program every year.  They are admitted as second year medical students in conjunction with their selection for residency in oral maxillofacial surgery.  The school of medicine accepts their dental education in place of the first year of medical school. 

 

MD Curriculum

 

Residency year 1/Medical School Year 2

OMS residents are enrolled in all second year medical school systems courses.  They do not take the initial Foundations of Disease and Therapy course, Clinical Skills Integration 201, and Clinical Skills Integration 202.  They continue to work as residents in the mornings of their first year of residency (while enrolled in medical school organ systems courses).  Time is provided to prepare for and take USMLE step 1 during May and June of this year. (35 weeks of instruction)

 

Residency year 2 /Medical School Year 3

OMS residents are placed on an unpaid leave of absence from residency during this year.  They are enrolled in all medical school classes and clerkships beginning with the clerkship preparation course.

They cannot practice under their DDS license (e.g. write orders or prescriptions) while on leave from residency and enrolled as a medical student on medical school rotations. (50 weeks of instruction)

 

Residency year 3 /Medical School Year 4

OMS residents remain on unpaid leave through the beginning of this year while they take clerkships during the first 5 blocks of their senior year of medical school.  The required clerkships are specified below.  These clerkships are scheduled by the Office of Student Affairs.  The OMS residents cannot practice under their DDS license (e.g. write orders or prescriptions) while on leave from residency and enrolled as a medical student on medical school rotations. Beginning in the sixth block of the senior medical school year, the residents are no longer on unpaid leave from residency.  They work under the supervision of the OMS faculty in their residency program for the remainder of the year.  They are released to attend the senior special topics course, and for medical school graduation.  They are required to take and pass the USMLE Step 2 exams in accordance with the policies of the medical school.

 

OMS MD Program Senior Year (21 weeks of instruction)

1. Primary Acting Internship (general surgery)
2. Critical Concepts
3. Secondary Acting Internship (anesthesia)
4. Elective (internal medicine consults or wards)
5. Elective (anesthesia)

Senior Special Topics and Medical School Graduation in the spring

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Primary Care Programs                                      

 

The Primary Care Programs at LSUHSC are designed to foster an interest in primary care by engaging medical students in a variety of programs and curriculum options that offer exposure to and experience in a full spectrum of primary care medical practice models. 

The Primary Care Programs are comprised of the Rural Scholar Track, the Primary Care Scholar Program, and non-scholarship program options that complement LSU’s longitudinal medical curriculum.  We also offer a variety of elective and volunteer experiences that are incorporated into the 4-year longitudinal medical school curriculum.

For students enrolled in the Rural Scholar Track or the Primary Care Scholar Program, either a full or partial tuition waiver is provided in return for a contractual commitment to practice primary care in Louisiana after graduation from residency.

 

Eligibility for funded awards is open to residents of Louisiana, and interested students must complete a separate application and interview.  Interviews for funded positions occur on a rolling basis, and are not conducted until after a student has been offered admission to the LSUHSC School of Medicine.

 

For more information, or to request an application, please email us at primarycare@lsuhsc.edu and see the links below:

 

• Primary Care Programs
• Rural Scholar Track
• Primary Care Scholar Program

 

 

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Summer Research

 

There are a variety of research programs underway in the Medical School which offer accepted students interesting opportunities for work during the summer vacation. The work is stimulating, challenging and educational. Not only will the student be able to learn more about the medical sciences, but the student will also be exposed and become more involved with a particular project while working alongside faculty and other students to possibly contribute new knowledge to a particular area of the medical sciences. These jobs are not necessarily designed exclusively for those who are seeking careers in research or in academic medicine but are also designed for those who would like to know more about research and what it involves. The experience may help make the student a better physician in the future. It will also strengthen the student's curriculum vitae which may assist in obtaining a residency position, particularly if a publication results from the work. However, before deciding upon a summer research project, some consideration should be given to goals. While any of the research programs available will add to the medical experience and be beneficial to the student's career, some involve a more in-depth commitment than others. This is especially true if one is considering applying for the Honors Program, described elsewhere in this document. There are a variety of programs to which the student can apply for stipends during the summer including: American Heart Association of Louisiana, Inc., Cancer Society, March of Dimes, LSUHSC Medical Student Summer Research Fellowships and individual research grants of the faculty. The Student Affairs Office has application forms from several of these agencies

https://www.medschool.lsuhsc.edu/genetics/summer_med_students.aspx

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Honors Program

 

The Honors Program at LSUHSC supplements the regular curriculum and is designed to challenge the exceptional student while stimulating the interests of the individual.  It entails an independent research program which encompasses basic and clinical sciences in the pursuit of a problem of specific interest.

Students who have achieved a high academic standing during their first semester in  medical school are eligible for consideration. Interested students may apply between February and May of their freshman year. Additional information and application forms may be found on the Student Research Opportunities page or may be obtained by contacting, Dr. Paula Gregory, Chairman of the Honors Program Committee, Professor, Department of Genetics at pgrego@lsuhsc.edu  Acceptance into this program is based upon information provided in the application, an interview with the Honors Program Committee, and the submission of an outline of the proposed research project.

 

Latine Health Scholars (LHS) Honors Program

The Latine Health Scholars (LHS) is a 4-year honors program for medical students to learn and apply Medical Spanish. The program accepts students who already have proficiency in Spanish and helps them develop better skills to provide medical services in Spanish while completing clinical rotations, academic projects, and volunteering opportunities within the Hispanic/Latine community.

Please visit the website or contact Dr. Sebastian Del Corral Winder (sdelco@lsuhsc.edu), Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry for more information.