At 135 years old, the Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine is one of the oldest medical schools in the western United States. With an innovative competency-based curriculum, high national rankings, and an exceptional focus on serving rural and underserved communities, the OHSU School of Medicine is an excellent choice for any student interested in a contemporary and meaningful career in medicine.
So, how do you get into the Oregon Health and Science School of Medicine? This article organizes all the key information you need to navigate the applications process effectively and efficiently. If you’re thinking about applying, consider bookmarking this page for easy reference.
The Oregon Health and Science School of Medicine is, not unlike other medical schools, quite competitive. While your primary AMCAS application is designed to deliver key information about your qualifications for attending medical school, the OHSU secondary application will be aimed to evaluate whether or not you will personally excel at the school.
This guide will familiarize you with the in and outs of the OHSU School of Medicine. By understanding the institutional identity, unique curriculum, selection factors, and requirements, you’ll be prepared to craft a compelling application and stand out from the crowd.
This article covers:
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The School of Medicine’s campus is located in the heart of Portland, Oregon, one of the most scenic and walkable urban areas in the country. The school dedicates much of its focus to improving healthcare in its home state of Oregon and requires medical students to participate in rural training sites.
OHSU Family Medicine and Primary Care education is ranked top 10 in the nation, and its research departments boast generous NIH funding and exceptional facilities.
The school’s innovative competency-based curriculum focuses on preparing students for doctoring in the 21st century. Because of rapid developments in technology and steadily increasing access to ground-breaking research, the School of Medicine prioritizes training future physicians in the art of lifelong learning, translational research, and collaborative doctoring. Many of the school’s evaluations are personalized, modal, and competency-based. Small-group and learner-centered pedagogy is practiced throughout the MD program.
The Oregon Health and Science University School of Medicine boasts top marks in Primary Care and Family Medicine and competitive rankings in other medical school categories.
Additionally, The Oregon Health and Science University ranks:
The Oregon Health and Science University School of Medicine offers medical programs at the bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral, and Ph.D. level. While this article focuses on the MD program, we briefly cover the other program further down.
The School of Medicine recently transformed its traditional four-year MD curriculum into what is now named YOUR M.D. The YOUR M.D. curriculum deviates from the century-old model proposed by Abraham Flexner, which is comprised of two years of scientific studies followed by two years of clinical training.
Instead, the MD curriculum at OHSU weaves pedagogical threads throughout the entire curriculum, quickly introduces clinical experience through simulation, preceptorship, and case studies, and graduates students based on competency rather than time spent in medical school.
The School of Medicine approaches medical school this way to better prepare students for doctoring in a world with rapidly developing medical knowledge and technology. In such a world, where knowledge expands and shifts frequently, tools evolve exponentially, and the complexity of medical practice increases steadily, the school has decided to focus on training critical thinking, problem-solving, continuous learning, and collaboration skills in their students.
One of the most practically unique aspects of the MD curriculum is the competency-based requirements for graduation. Entering medical students with intensive prior healthcare experience may bypass curricular components upon demonstrating competency in the subject. This means that some students graduate variably, depending on their pace and how much healthcare experience they bring with them into medical school. For most students, however, the traditional four-year medical school path will be required.
OHSU Family Medicine and Primary Care education are nationally recognized, but the MD curriculum includes ample training in research and a variety of medical fields as well.
Let’s explore the main aspects of OSHU’s MD curriculum.
Threads
The following themes are explored throughout the entire MD program
The OHSU SoM Undergraduate Medical Education (UME) competencies
The OHSU SoM Undergraduate Medical Education (UME) competencies are distinct requirements students must meet in order to complete the school’s competency-based MD program.
There are 43 competencies in total, which fall under one of six Domains of Competence:
The requirements for demonstrating competency vary and depend on the competency. Students achieve certain milestones through multi-modal competency-based classroom assessments and evaluated experiences in simulated and authentic clinical settings.
Core Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) for entering residency
The School of Medicine ensures students experience AAMC’s Core Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) for entering residency before graduating. These are 13 activities medical students must be able to perform when applying for residency. Broadly, the activities are:
Foundations of Medicine Phase
The Foundations of Medicine will typically last the first two years and consists of team-based and small group learning, advanced simulated clinical experiences, preceptorship, and self-directed learning.
The following blocks are taught in sequence: Fundamentals, Blood and Host Defense, Skin, Bones and Musculature, Cardio, Pulmonary and Renal, Hormones and Digestion, Nervous System and Function, Developing Human.
Additionally, students complete Preceptorship and Narrative Medicine in preparation for clerkships, and Foundations of Patient Safety.
Clinical Experience Phase
Most students will begin the Clinical Experience Phase in their second year. This phase consists of clinical experiences in family medicine, internal medicine, neurology, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, psychiatry, and surgery.
Additionally, students must complete rotations in a rural Oregon community.
The School of Medicine requires students to its “Continuity” requirement by spending seven weeks full-time with the same patient population, same health care system, or same preceptor(s).
Clinical performance exam (CPX)
Students are required to pass the clinical performance exam to demonstrate competency. The school states, “The CPX consists of cases that mirror common problems students should be prepared to identify and manage following completion of their core clinical experiences.”
Core intersessions
Students elect to participate in the following intercessions during clerkships: Cancer Intersession, Cognitive Impairment Intersession, Infection Intersession, Pain Intersession.
Electives
A minimum of 34 elective credits must be taken and passed, 22 of which must be clinical experiences. Students pursue areas of interest and specialize for residency.
Transition to Residency
In the final year, students take Transition to Residency. This course includes small-group learning as well as lecture-style teachings on key areas for future residents. Topics include non-clinical aspects of doctoring, the principles of overdiagnosing, communicating with patients and family, reviewing clinical skills, and other residency-focused preparatory topics.
Scholarly Projects
Students complete Scholarly Projects consisting of investigations into areas of interest over the course of the MD program.
Narrative Medicine
The Narrative Medicine aspect of OHSU’s MD program consists of active listening, reflection, and more. Through the MD program, students write Field Notes in response to essay prompts designed to provoke reflection and allow students space to contemplate their many medical school experiences. Feedback is given and discussed by faculty and peers.
The MD curriculum also teaches “care practiced with narrative competence,” as stated on the curriculum webpage. During intercessions and some electives, “students use non-medical texts, visual art, graphic medicine, or film to consider the experience of illness from multiple perspectives. Narrative medicine provides an opportunity to look beyond a disease and consider what it means to be human in medicine.”
In addition to the MD program, the School of Medicine offers dual degrees and career-focused bachelor’s and master’s programs.
The MD/PhD Training Program focuses on training medical students for the rigors of scientific research with the goal of becoming physician-scientists. The MD/PhD Training Program is a unique opportunity for students to complete both their MD and PhD degrees in a shorter time frame than if they were to complete the programs separately.
The MD/PhD program admits students without preference for Oregon residency status.
Clinical research training is provided in fields such as Neuroscience, Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, Medical Informatics and Clinical Epidemiology, Behavioral Neuroscience, and Quantitative Biosciences & Biomedical Engineering
This program offers capable students a path to earning a Doctor of Medicine (MD) and Master of Public Health (MPH) degree within five years. Offered by the OHSU School of Medicine in collaboration with the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health, the MD/MPH program entails four years of medical school, a year dedicated to Public Health studies, and elective coursework.
The Oregon Health and Science University is ranked #10 nationally in Physician Assistant education. So, naturally, the school’s Physician Assistant (PA) program attracts a lot of attention. The program is 26 months, full-time, and awards a Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS) degree.
The Radiation Therapy Program at the School of Medicine is accredited by the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology (JRCERT) and awards a Bachelor of Science in Radiation. The program teaches equips students with the foundational scientific knowledge and technical expertise necessary to pursue a career in radiation therapy.
Beyond the requirements detailed in the following section, the admissions committee at OHSU School of Medicine gives preference to certain applicants and favors specific qualities and characteristics.
Oregon residents are overwhelming represented in OHSU School of Medicine’s entering class, despite 93% of applicants being from out of state. However, admissions states the school favors non-residents with “outstanding achievements in academics and significant experiences in health care, leadership, extracurricular activities and/or community service.”
Additionally, applicants from communities traditionally underrepresented in medicine are given preference, as well as those able to contribute to diversity in medical school and the health care profession.
Admissions also prefers applicants who are seeking to enroll in OSHU dual-degree programs, such as the MD/PhD or MD/MPH programs.
Finally, the School of Medicine favors applicants who can demonstrate independence, a dedication to lifelong learning, and an interest in rural health, serving underserved communities, and/or biomedical research.
Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited undergraduate institution. The admissions committee does not evaluate a candidate based on their major or area of study. They look for applicants who explore a broad range of courses chosen based on their personal interests and intellectual curiosity.
According to OHSU’s admissions webpage, the current minimum qualifiers are:
Additionally, “Eligible MCATs for the 2022 admissions cycle are those recorded from 2018 through January 2022.”
The admissions committee at OHSU School of Medicine requires applicants to submit Computer-Based Assessment for Sampling Personal Characteristics (CASPer) test scores to evaluate.
CASPer is a situational judgment test designed to evaluate key personal and professional characteristics important to the profession of doctoring. The questions are open-ended. Your responses help admissions understand your social intelligence, ability to collaborate, ethics, empathy, and problem-solving.
Your CASPer results will be distributed to the medical schools you select when signing up for the test. For the School of Medicine, you will need to take the Medicine (Allopathic) test (code “CSP-10111 – U.S. Medicine”).
The admissions committee at the School of Medicine requires three letters of recommendation for your application to be complete. These people should be chosen carefully, as they will provide the committee with valuable insight into your ability to succeed in medical school.
OHSU requires three letters from your undergraduate institution’s teaching faculty. Two can be submitted by professors from any department. At least one letter must come from a member of the science department.
You may submit three letters as a packet instead of individually. An evaluation report/committee letter from your undergraduate premedical committee may be submitted instead of three separate letters.
If it’s been five or more years since you graduated college, two of the three letters may be from employers.
You may submit as many letters as you deem valuable. The School of Medicine’s admissions committee likes to see nonacademic letters as well. Submitting letters that cover your experiences with healthcare internships or physician shadowing is highly recommended.
All letters of recommendation must be submitted through the AMCAS letter service.
The School of Medicine typically accepts less than 170 first-year students each year. The total student population at the School of Medicine is just under 600.
Here are the GPA and MCAT statistics for the 2022 MD entering class:
The OHSU School of Medicine acceptance rate for 2022 is 3.5%. The acceptance rate has ranged from 2.3% to 3.8% in recent years.
In 2022, out of 6,700+ total applicants:
Of the 2022 entering students:
As of 2022, OHSU’s MD program ranges from $13,071.78 to $13,723.78 a year. Medical school at Oregon Health and Science University is a flat-fee lock-step program that will not increase in cost once a student is enrolled (given the program is completed in the usual timeframe).
Here is a breakdown of the fees for the MD program:
Here is the current tuition:
The total cost of tuition and fees to attend the entire four-year MD program at OHSU as of 2022 is $53,582.12 for residents and $77,019.12 for non-residents.
To apply to the OHSU School of Medicine, you will first complete the AMCAS. As with all but a handful of medical schools, the AMCAS is your primary application for medical school. Your AMCAS application is sent to all the medical schools you apply to.
Upon receiving your AMCAS, the OHSU School of Medicine will invite you to complete its secondary application. The secondary application contains questions specific to OHSU to determine if you are a good fit for the school. Secondary applications for medical schools contain essay questions about your interests in pursuing a medical degree, your experiences in healthcare, and other topics.
Your responses to the essay prompts in OHSU’s secondary application will provide admissions with information about what makes you uniquely fit for the school. Your answers should demonstrate your personal experiences, your motivation for pursuing a career in medicine, and your understanding of the healthcare field.
It’s important to craft quality, compelling essay responses. Aside from your AMCAS application, these answers may be the only opportunity you have to make a strong, personal case for why you should be admitted to OHSU’s School of Medicine.
To help you get started on your essays, we’ve compiled a list of OHSU’s secondary essay prompts so you can get an idea of what to expect. Many of the prompts listed here have been used by OHSU for the past three years, so it’s quite possible you’ll encounter them word for word when you apply. We also help break down the questions, provide general advice, and offer sample answers.
What experience have you had that has given you insight into the patients you hope to eventually serve? (1550 characters)
While it’s a noble passion to want to serve communities different than your own, it’s true that quality care requires understanding patients and recognizing their unique struggles. Because of this, the School of Medicine wants to know what experiences you have had that will help you understand the patients you hope to serve.
If you’re from a community that is medically underserved and represents the patients you hope to care for, you can discuss your personal insights gained through experience in the community.
Now is the time to draw from healthcare internships and volunteer experiences you’ve had.
Here are some ideas:
Other than work-life balance, what will be your greatest challenge in becoming a physician? (1550 characters)
Everyone faces personal challenges when pursuing a profession, especially physicians. Admissions is interested in getting to know more about what will challenge you and your ability to recognize these challenges.
For this response, it’s important to be honest and reflective. You should try to think of things that uniquely challenge you or test your weaknesses. Remember, by discussing what you expect to be challenged by, you are also discussing what you hope to achieve. Here are some examples of challenges when becoming a physician:
Discuss a time in your life that demonstrated your resilience. (1550 characters)
Growth, self-reflection, endurance, and problem-solving are all essential qualities for medical students and physicians. When answering this prompt, think of a time when you persevered by finding a creative solution or by continuing to work hard in the face of adversity.
Your answer should establish the setting, the challenges and how you overcame them, and what you learned from the experience.
If possible, limit your description of the experience to at least one-half of the essay. The most important part is discussing what you learned from the experience and how it will help you as a medical student or physician.
Please describe your path through the OHSU UME Admissions Recommended Premedical Competencies, with special attention to experiences that are not reflected in your transcript. Do not include specific grades or test scores in your response. AAMC’s Core Competencies for Entering Medical Students & OHSU Recommended Prerequisites. (2050 characters)
The AAMC’s Core Competencies for Entering Medical Students serve as a fantastic guide for what to include and focus on in your medical school applications. This question asks you to specifically relate your experiences and accomplishments in terms of the Core Competencies and OHSU’s Recommended Prerequisites.
Here, follow the links provided in the prompt. For each Core Competency and Recommended Prerequisite, note an experience that demonstrates you’ve developed that skill. Since your answer is limited to 2050 characters, give narrative priority to experiences not mentioned in your AMCAS or other parts of the School of Medicine’s secondary application. Make sure to cover all the competencies and prerequisites.
Give an example of personal feedback in the last few years that was difficult to receive. How did you respond? (1550 characters)
The OHSU School of Medicine centers its philosophy of medical teaching on competency and lifelong learning. Evaluations are frequent and cover a wide range of knowledge and performance. OHSU, more so than other schools, evaluates your personal ability to learn new information, integrate concepts, communicate, and work well with others.
Since in-depth feedback and personalized discussions on students’ strengths and weaknesses is a major part of the School of Medicine’s pedagogy, the admissions committee wants to know how you have handled criticism in the past and if you can learn from it.
When thinking of examples, try to prioritize experiences you’ve had in professional, academic, and/or healthcare settings. And, similarly to responses to questions about personal adversity, you should highlight what you learned from the experience and how it changed your perspective moving forward.
Here is a sample response:
During my sophomore year of college, one of my classes was more discussion-based than I was used to. I had collaborated on group projects before, but mostly worked isolated from the rest of the group. I approached the discussion-based class thinking I could excel in exams and essays and forego discussion.
My professor asked me why I wasn’t participating in class. I told her I learned best alone and the other students distracted me. She explained that class participation wasn’t just a matter of grades, but that it would help me understand the material.
I didn’t listen. I was surprised to learn that my grade suffered not only from lack of participation, but that my essays did poorly as well.
I enrolled in another discussion-based course with the same professor. I not only excelled in the course, but came to love the class format and seek out other discussion-based courses.
I realized I was resisting the idea that I could learn more by collaborating with others. I had the false view that knowledge is absorbed like one listens to a monologue, when in fact learning is more like a dialogue. I was surprised by the new dimensions revealed in the course material when I practiced active listening and challenged myself to respond to other perspectives.
I also learned that I should reflect on inner resistance to criticism. I believe stubbornness can be felt — it’s a heavy, wordless barrier that tries to make me angry and righteous. Now I know when I have that feeling, it’s time to step back and make extra effort to listen and learn.
This response demonstrates the ability to learn from criticism and change one’s perspective. The applicant has also taken the initiative to seek out discussion-based courses, showing that they are willing to learn in different ways.
Please discuss how your personal experience demonstrates the ability to overcome adversity and contributes to diversity in the provision of healthcare. Please include any insight into the diversity that you would bring to OHSU School of Medicine and the profession of medicine in the context of OHSU’s definition of diversity: Diversity at OHSU requires creating and sustaining a community of inclusion. We honor, respect, embrace and value the unique contributions and perspectives of all employees, patients, students, volunteers and our local and global communities. Diversity may include age, color, culture, disability, ethnicity, gender identity or expression, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status. We respect diversity of thought, ideas and more. Diversity maximizes our true potential for creativity, innovation, quality patient care, educational excellence and outstanding service. (1550 characters)
Healthcare institutions around the country take seriously the issue of inclusion and diversity. In order to provide comprehensive care to diverse populations, medical professionals must be knowledgeable and experienced with various cultures, communities, and identities. A diverse healthcare staff is positioned to understand and recognize the unique needs of a diverse patient population.
This question asks, “how will your personal experiences contribute to diversity and equip you to overcome adversity?” When responding to this, consider experiences that have challenged you because of your unique background. The prompt includes numerous measures of diversity, such as age, ethnicity, gender, religion, socioeconomic status, and more. Use these categories to reflect upon your identity and explore the challenges it brings.
You may also include experiences you’ve had working with people from communities more marginalized than your own. Have you witnessed prejudice? Did you ever need to navigate bigotry, racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, etc. in a professional setting? Do you have friends or family whose struggles have given you a unique perspective on the adversities faced in noninclusive environments?
The question also asks you to discuss insights you may have on the subject. Since the question is geared to evaluate your ability to contribute to diversity in healthcare, consider focusing on insights that include actionable steps. Here are some ideas of what to include in this portion of your response:
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Like other medical schools, the Oregon Health and Science University School of Medicine prioritizes candidates with compelling healthcare experience. Our healthcare internships abroad give you the opportunity to work in medically underserved communities across the globe and learn from experienced healthcare professionals.
You’ll have the chance to see first-hand how different healthcare systems operate, as well as gain valuable experience shadowing physicians abroad. We offer didactic sessions for a variety of specialties and provide comfortable, entertaining accommodations for all of our interns.
Our internships include admissions support as well. So, if you’re interested in experiencing intensive, hands-on healthcare work and want to give yourself a competitive advantage for medical school, an internship with International Medical Aidis the ideal choice.
We hope this guide has given you a helpful overview of what to expect and how to put your best foot forward as you navigate your application to Oregon Health and Science University.
Don’t forget to explore our other ultimate medical school guides:
We wish you all the best in your medical school journey!
International Medical Aid provides global internship opportunities for students and clinicians who are looking to broaden their horizons and experience healthcare on an international level. These program participants have the unique opportunity to shadow healthcare providers as they treat individuals who live in remote and underserved areas and who don’t have easy access to medical attention. International Medical Aid also provides medical school admissions consulting to individuals applying to medical school and PA school programs. We review primary and secondary applications, offer guidance for personal statements and essays, and conduct mock interviews to prepare you for the admissions committees that will interview you before accepting you into their programs. IMA is here to provide the tools you need to help further your career and expand your opportunities in healthcare.
