Medical Education Pipeline Programs
Recruiting Tomorrow's Doctors
Most medical students begin their journey toward becoming a physician long before they apply to medical school. That’s why the Heritage College offers a wide range of premedical education opportunities that can start you down your own path. Whether you’re a high school student dreaming of becoming a doctor, or a college undergraduate wondering what medical school is like, we have a program for you.
Early Assurance Program
Outstanding Ohio high school seniors are invited to apply to the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine Early Assurance Program. In as few as seven years, students can earn their undergraduate degree from Ohio University or another one of our EAP partner schools and their Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree from the Heritage College.
Summer Scholars
Summer Scholars is a program designed for aspiring physicians from communities experiencing health care disparities or medical provider shortages. For more than 40 years, participants hailing from those communities have been selected to participate in the rigorous 5-week program, which offers an immersive experience designed to give participants a realistic introduction to the first-year curriculum at Heritage College and to foster academic, career and personal success. College faculty and medical students teach courses in medical morphology, histology, immunology and biochemistry. There are also workshops on the admissions process, learning strategies, time management and other areas relevant to medical school experience. Annually, the program accepts 24 applicants who have encountered barriers that have impeded their path to medical school but who are passionate about practicing medicine with populations and in communities where there are limited medical resources and access to health care.
Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship
Participants in the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship program work in an active research laboratory under the guidance of a faculty mentor. This six-week program is designed to expose pre-medical students to the challenges, excitement and satisfaction of biomedical and basic science research. In addition to gaining research experience, program participants will also earn six semester hours of Ohio University biological science credit, which may be transferred back to your home institution.
Post-Baccalaureate
(By invitation only)It has been widely shown that medical students often go back to the communities they come from, especially those who once lived in rural or urban communities that lacked adequate health care. We recognize that many future providers have a passion for medicine, but their journey to medical school may have been challenged by their communities' limited educational and financial resources.
The Post-Baccalaureate Program aims to address these gaps in health care and foster academic, career and personal success in aspiring physicians by giving a select number of high-potential students on our medical school admissions waiting list an opportunity to gain admission to Heritage College.
The program consists of one academic year of prescribed upper-level science coursework at Ohio University, plus participation in our four-week Prematriculation Program. Students who complete all program requirements and finish the post-bac program with a 3.2 overall GPA will be guaranteed admission to that fall's entering class.
Consideration for the program begins by applying to Heritage College, completing the interview process, and receiving a waitlist decision from the Student Selection Advisory Committee. No other application is necessary. Student Selection Advisory Committee members will convene at the end of the interview cycle in May to select participants.
Aspiring DOctors Precollege Program (Cleveland)
This is a comprehensive, three-year pipeline program to foster participants' interest in pursuing careers in science and health. Students in the program visit the Heritage College's Cleveland campus each year starting in 10th grade to learn more about osteopathic medicine and other health care careers through participation in academic enrichment and hands-on learning activities.
Medical Academy (Dublin)
Focused on reimagining educational approaches to careers in health care, Medical Academy is coordinated through the Heritage College's Dublin campus and fosters learning across the educational continuum. The program enables career exploration and professional growth and it provides opportunities for leadership through service learning.
Pre-Matriculation
(By invitation only)
PreMatriculation is a four-week accelerated introduction to the medical school experience for HCOM Post Baccalaureate participants and other mission-aligned entering medical students. The program, held in Athens, mirrors the content and rigor of the first semester of the Pathways to Health and Wellness Curriculum and provides opportunities for participants to become familiar with the health disparities and social determinants of health endemic to rural southeastern Ohio.
Students who have completed our Post Baccalaureate program are required to participate in PreMatriculation. Other entering students may be invited to participate based on their academic needs or alignment with our college mission. The program typically enrolls a cohort of 24 students.
The program is designed to promote academic, career and personal success by helping to reinforce strategies that promote life-long learning. The curriculum uses a case-based learning approach that allows program participants to explore basic science concepts (e.g., anatomy, physiology, biochemistry) that form the foundation for clinical concepts.