VP&S Graduation Requirements

 

Overview/Rationale

To outline the curricular requirements that must be fulfilled for a student to receive the doctor of medicine degree from Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (VP&S)

Accreditation Standards

LCME Accreditation Standard:

9.9  Student Advancement and Appeal Process

10.3 Policies Regarding Student Selection/Progress and Their Dissemination

Stakeholders

Students (M1-M4), Faculty

Those requirements for successful completion of the MD degree are as follows:

  • Passing all courses in the Fundamentals Curriculum 
  • Passing all clinical clerkships in the Major Clinical Year
  • Passing all coursework in the Differentiation & Integration curriculum 
  • Passing of the USMLE Step 1 and USMLE Step 2 CK exams 
  • Completion of theReflection on Learning Growth: Coaching and Portfolio Review

Differentiation and Integration (D&I) coursework requirements:

 

The third and final phase of the curriculum, Differentiation and Integration (D&I), involves 14 months of coursework, including the Scholarly Project, and the USMLE Step 2 CK examination. In the MD curriculum, this is a time for students to differentiate by exploring their specialty areas of interest and to integrate by bringing together the educational themes that are important to their professional identity.

Students are encouraged to review the D&I Planning page for more information regarding elective policies and career planning.

D&I Phase Requirements are as follows:

Students in MD program:

  • 1 core sub-internship from approved list (rotations that meet this definition are listed in OASIS) (4 weeks)

(Columbia-Bassett students must complete either their core Sub-I or an additional sub-I elective at CUIMC, Allen, or Harlem Hospital)

  • Ready for Residency (R4R) course (4 weeks)*
  • Completion of Scholarly Project (16 weeks)†
  • Passing USMLE Step 2 CK (4 weeks study time)
  • Electives (20 weeks for MD students; 16 weeks for Columbia-Bassett Students):
    • Of this, at least 12 weeks must be clinical electivesat  CUIMC or affiliates.
    • Students must complete a 4-week final term clinical elective at CUIMC or affiliate (from approved Final Term Clinical Elective List in OASIS.) This elective must be completed between January and April of graduation year)
    • Students may take 2-week electives if offered/approved by the elective’s director and electives committee.

 *Students may request to waive the R4R requirement.

†Scholarly Project allows students to substitute one additional Scholarly Project month for up to 4 weeks of elective, for up to 5 months total of Scholarly Project . Students who have completed 12 months of research prior to D&I phase may waive the scholarly project requirement.

Students in MD-PhD program:

  • 1 core sub-I from approved list (rotations that meet this definition are listed in OASIS) (4 weeks)
  • Ready for Residency (R4R) course* (4 weeks)
  • Passing USMLE Step 2 CK (4 weeks study time)

Students in PHD to MD students:

  • 1 core sub-Iin from approved list (rotations that meet this definition are listed in OASIS) (4 weeks)
  • Additional elective (4 weeks)
  • Ready for Residency (R4R) course *(4 weeks)
  • Passing USMLE Step 2 CK (4 weeks study time)

Students in OMFS program:

  • 1 core sub-I in medicine or general surgery (4 weeks)
  • 4 weeks additional elective after MCY (8 weeks of electives are taken from preclinical free summer and 12elective weeks are credited from Anesthesiology requirements for OMFS.)
  • Passing USMLE Step 2 CK (4 weeks study time)

Note on licensure: Meeting the graduation requirements for the MD degree at Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons does not guarantee eligibility for state licensure. Some states have specialized curricular requirements for licensure, and students are advised to check with the Medical Board in states of possible residency for licensure requirements.

The MD Program reserves the right to make changes to the academic requirements, teaching modality, and required schedule at any point to ensure that all competencies and objectives are being met by medical students. All changes will be communicated to medical students in a timely manner.

 

Approval Date: Reviews were done annually and were transitioned from student handbooks and online formats.  These documents were reformatted and codified into specific procedures and edits were added.  The policy was reviewed and approved by the Committee on Educational Policy and Curriculum on 09/20/2024.