What is a special master’s program?
A special master’s program (SMP) is a one- or two-year graduate program designed for future medical school applicants who want to prove they can handle medical school science. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) treats these programs as a separate path from traditional, research-based master’s degrees, and at Georgetown University and the University of Cincinnati, SMP students take courses alongside first-year medical students, with Georgetown grading them against the same class.
SMPs carry many degree names, including physiology, medical sciences, anatomy, and biology, so the title on the diploma matters less than how the program is built. The University at Buffalo, for example, runs a special master’s program in biological sciences that pairs graduate coursework with a mentored project instead of medical school classes.
Should you apply to medical school during your SMP or after it?
SMP students generally follow one of two timelines, applying to medical school the summer before the program starts or waiting until they finish. Georgetown says many of its incoming students apply early, while the University of Cincinnati says the experience is stronger when students wait until after the program.
| What changes | Apply during your SMP | Apply after your SMP |
|---|---|---|
| When you apply | The summer before the SMP starts, once the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS) begins accepting submissions in late May | The summer after you finish, with a full year of graduate grades on record |
| What schools see first | Your undergraduate record and test score, with fall SMP grades arriving later; at Georgetown, a faculty letter reports them | Your complete SMP transcript, which AMCAS reports as a separate graduate GPA |
| Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) | A competitive score before you apply, which Georgetown says applicants in their SMP year will need | Room to take or retake the exam after a year of medical-level coursework |
| Earliest medical school start | The fall right after the SMP ends | One year later, with the gap year open for clinical work or research |
| Who it fits | Applicants whose MCAT score, clinical hours, and undergraduate record are already close to competitive | Applicants who want medical schools to judge them on their full SMP performance |
How Prepory supports special master’s program applicants
Work one-on-one with a Prepory graduate admissions coach who starts from your goal of medical school and plans backward, deciding whether an SMP belongs in your path, which programs fit, and when your medical school application should go out.
Your coach reviews your record the way a medical school would, looking at how your science grades have moved from year to year, where your MCAT preparation stands, and how many clinical, research, and service hours you've logged. That review shows what an SMP could add to your application and what it can't, such as patient care experience you'll still need to build.
Two SMPs with similar names can work very differently. Your coach compares whether you'd take courses with medical students, how long each program runs, and whether it offers a linkage. A linkage is a formal route into an affiliated medical school for students who meet set benchmarks, and it can shape your whole list.
SMP testing rules vary widely. Drexel's Intensive Medical Sciences program requires the MCAT and doesn't accept the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE), while Case Western Reserve University's MS in Medical Physiology makes scores optional and accepts several exams, including the GRE, MCAT, and Dental Admission Test (DAT). Your coach helps you pick an exam and a test date that fit both your SMP list and your medical school timeline.
Send as many drafts as you need to Prepory's Writing Specialists, from your SMP personal statement to your later AMCAS essays, and get objective feedback until each one explains why medicine, and why this step, in your own voice.
Build a resume that SMP committees are impressed by, with clinical work, research, and service each described by what you did, how long you did it, and what came of it.
Practice for SMP interviews where programs hold them, and for the medical school interviews that may arrive during your SMP year, whether a school uses a traditional conversation or multiple mini interviews (MMIs).
Line up the right letters at each stage, starting with science professors who know your coursework for your SMP applications and adding SMP faculty who can speak to your graduate-level work once medical schools are reviewing you.
Compare your SMP offers side by side, including cost, class format, linkage terms, and how each program fits your medical school timeline, so you commit to the one that gives your application the most to show.
Crafting your personal statement
for special master’s programs
Crafting your personal statement for special master’s programs
Your personal statement for a special master’s program does a different job than most graduate essays. Admissions committees read it to understand why you’re committed to medicine, why a year of medical-level coursework is the right step now, and whether you’re ready to keep up in classes modeled on the first year of medical school.
Through Prepory’s special master’s program admissions consulting, you can submit an unlimited number of essays and written materials to our team of Writing Specialists, who give you objective, line-by-line feedback until your statement makes that case clearly.
Graduate admissions testimonials
Thousands of applicants
trust Prepory
Thousands of applicants trust Prepory
"I just wanted to inform you how amazing working with Chris was. Not only did I get into all the programs I applied to due to his strategy and essay expertise, but he was also a joy to work with. Obviously the masters application process can be grueling and tedious, but I genuinely enjoyed all the sessions I had working with Chris and I could feel a genuine passion for writing and helping students like myself, something I had not felt from previous college counseling companies I had worked with. In addition, the essay work we did together was very helpful and I saw huge improvements in my essays from when we first started to where we ended, which definitely played massive roles in my acceptances and scholarships earned. I can not thank/recommend Chris enough!"
OUR APPLICANTS HAVE BEEN ADMITTED TO TOP SCHOOLS
OUR APPLICANTS HAVE BEEN ADMITTED TO TOP SCHOOLS
FAQs for special master’s
program applicants
A special master's program is worth it when you're ready to perform at a medical school pace, because its value comes from strong grades in medical-level courses that admissions committees can weigh against an older undergraduate record. Weak SMP grades add a second record that's hard to explain, so the program works best when your study habits, finances, and schedule can support a full-time year.
Check the rest of your application too. An SMP doesn't add clinical hours, and it doesn't replace a competitive MCAT score.
No, a special master's program doesn't raise your undergraduate GPA, because the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS) has applicants calculate graduate courses separately from their cumulative undergraduate GPA. Medical schools see your undergraduate science record as it stands, with your SMP grades reported beside it as a graduate GPA.
That separation is what makes an SMP useful. Instead of diluting an older record, strong graduate grades give committees a newer one to read next to it.
Most special master's programs don't guarantee medical school admission, though several offer a guaranteed interview or a conditional acceptance to students who meet set benchmarks. Georgetown guarantees an interview at its medical school to SMP students whose benchmarks include a 3.5 GPA in the program and an MCAT score of at least 510, and Drexel offers qualified Intensive Medical Sciences applicants a conditional acceptance to its MD program.
Read the terms closely. Drexel's program is an early assurance track, so students must withdraw their other medical school applications, which changes how you plan your cycle.
A special master's program is demanding by design, because it compresses medical school-level science into roughly one academic year. The University of Cincinnati's program runs 10 months and includes medical blocks taken alongside first-year medical students, and Drexel says about 70% of its program's basic science courses are equivalent to the first year of its medical school.
Treat the SMP as a full-time commitment, since the grades you earn there are what medical schools will read most closely.
A special master's program describes how a program is built, while a master's in biomedical sciences describes what the degree is called. Some master's in biomedical sciences programs are SMPs designed for future medical school applicants, and others are research degrees built around a thesis.
Judge each program by its curriculum rather than its name, looking at whether its courses mirror the first year of medical school, whether you take them with medical students, and whether it offers a medical school linkage.
Get one-on-one help with your special master’s program application
To learn more about Prepory and how we can support your special master’s program application, contact us to schedule your free initial consultation.
Our graduate admissions coaches will help you decide whether an SMP belongs in your plan, choose programs that match how you learn, and map out when your medical school application should go out.
