MD Curriculum FAQs

The foundational first part of our curriculum is called the Trunks, and the flexible second part of the curriculum is called the Branches.

Starting your third year, the Branches allow for advanced clinical experiences with professional development tailored to your personal interests. You’ll clearly define or refine your career goals with support from your coach, branch advisors, mentors and peers, all with the aim of maximizing your success in your future career, from residency and beyond. The Branches reserves time in your schedule for Capstone for Impact project work, so there is plenty of time to develop and execute your idea.

During the Scientific Trunk, all M1s attend a session to learn about our Paths of Excellence. At the beginning of the second semester, you can choose to apply to a Path to explore a topic of personal interest in greater depth. Each Path offers deeper understanding, hands-on involvement, and opportunities for impact and excellence, mentored by faculty who have deep expertise and passion for the subject. Work completed in your Path of Excellence can fulfill your Capstone for Impact project requirement for graduation.

There are seven Path of Excellence concentrations: Global Health & Disparities, Ethics, Health Policy, Healthcare Innovation, Medical Humanities, Scientific Discovery, and Patient Safety/Quality Improvement/Complex Systems.

M-Home is our learning community designed to give you a built-in support and mentoring system as you develop personally and professionally throughout your four years in medical school. On the first day of Launch, new students are welcomed into one of four houses. 

All M1s start medical school with a unique orientation experience called M1 Launch. This is where you will be sorted into your M-Home house, be welcomed into the UMMS community, learn how we teach and support you, meet your Doctoring faculty and small groups, and more. The week is designed to help you get to know your classmates while preparing you to hit the ground running on day one.

The passive knowledge transfer of science content occurs through pre-recorded asynchronous lectures. This allows for the optimal sequencing of content and improved technical quality. Learners can pause, rewind or watch recordings at 2x speed. All lectures are ADA compliant, providing captions and searchable transcriptions. In-person sessions are focused on active learning where students interact with the material and faculty instructors. On average, 40% of required sessions each week are active learning in-person sessions.

As mentioned above, M1 year takes off with Launch, our version of orientation complete with getting sorted into your M-Home house. The rest of your M1 year will reinforce the strong scientific foundation for which Michigan is known. You will study normal and abnormal processes side-by-side in integrated organ system blocks. You will simultaneously learn clinical skills to complement the science in your longitudinal Doctoring Course.

For example, when you are learning about the anatomy and pathophysiology of the heart, you will be learning how to communicate with patients with cardiac problems and perform a physical exam of the heart. You will also be introduced to interprofessional education, leadership and the Paths of Excellence. Throughout the Scientific Trunk, the pedagogies are matched to the content, so you will encounter many teaching formats ranging from pre-recorded lectures to in-person, case-based small group discussions to hands-on labs and practical exams.

During your M2 Clinical Trunk year, you will transition from classroom-based learning to clinical learning. The year begins with a four-week “ramp-up” period, Transition to Clerkships, which is intended to help you get ready for learning in a clinical setting. You will focus on developing habits of scientific inquiry that will help you learn from patients, and you will hone your clinical skills, so you are ready to become an integral member of the team on day one of your core clerkships. The bulk of your M2 year will consist of clerkships in the standard disciplines of family medicine, neurology, internal medicine, surgery & applied science, OBGYN, pediatrics and psychiatry. Emergency medicine is also required, but you take that in the Branches.

You will have a dedicated study period of eight weeks (continuous or in two separate four-week blocks) after completing clinical clerkships at the end of the Clinical Trunk. This timing is flexible and scheduled based on individual preference. Students are required to sit for Step 1 by end of April 1 of the M3 year.

Yes! If anything, you will be more prepared than students before you because you’ll be connecting clinical experiences with what you learn in the classroom earlier and more frequently, which is an ideal way to retain what you learn.

Michigan students have always been well prepared for the STEP exams, performing above the national average. More importantly, when it comes to the annual residency match, Michigan graduates are highly regarded. Our graduates consistently receive among the top five highest scores by residency directors nationwide (U.S. News & World Report, Best Medical Schools).

Shadowing Interprofessional Sessions (SIPS) during M1 year will provide you with early patient connections and interactions with other health professionals in various clinical settings. Through this first-of-many interprofessional education opportunities, you will begin to develop your understanding of patient care, allied health professional roles, team communication and systems of care delivery.