Our Educational Mission

To prepare physicians who will provide outstanding, patient-centered care and to inspire future leaders who will improve world health through scholarship and innovation.

Overview

The Stanford MD curriculum integrates basic science and clinical experience with in-depth study and independent research throughout the years of medical school. Other major themes of the new curriculum include:

  • Integration

    • Streamlined content and optimized course sequence
    • Melding of basic science and clinical concepts throughout the curriculum
  • Individual Opportunities

    • Blocks of unscheduled time for individual or group study, elective coursework, and research
    • Option of a fifth or sixth year of study and opportunities for earning joint degrees
  • Scholarly Concentrations

    • Area of academic focus, or "major," designed to ground the student's education in an area of passionate interest
    • Enhance student satisfaction with the study of medicine and foster a lifelong commitment to investigation and cross-disciplinary thinking
  • Strengthening of Doctor-Patient Communication and Clinical Skills Instruction
    • Broad clinical science education in the first two years with early exposure to patient care and the practice of medicine
    • Early entry into clinical clerkships
    • Broader emphasis on doctor-patient communication, ethics, and the art of medicine

Graduation Requirements

This documents summarizes the required coursework, clerkships and total units for graduation.

Curriculum Schematic

The schematic provides a visual overview of the five program blocks that make up the MD curriculum, and how they interact.

Scholarly Concentrations

The Scholarly Concentration is a required, structured program of study -- akin to a "major" -- designed to ground each student's education in an area of passionate interest.


Educators-4-Care

Each incoming medical student is matched with an Educator-4-CARE faculty, who will serve as a teacher, mentor and colleague for the duration of the student’s time at Stanford. 


Policies & Requirements