Honors Program in Medical Education

The Honors Program in Medical Education (HPME) is designed for highly talented high school seniors who should be able to qualify for advanced placement in chemistry, mathematics, and one of the humanities on the basis of superior achievement in high school. Each year 30 freshmen are admitted to the program and to the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, or School of Communication.

The first three or four years of the program are spent on the Evanston campus in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, McCormick School, or School of Communication and the last four years at the Feinberg School of Medicine on the Chicago campus. HPME students must complete 36 courses that meet the requirements for HPME students in one of the three preceding undergraduate schools. They also are responsible for a University Enrollment Requirement of nine full-time quarters. Only courses taken at Northwestern or approved study abroad may be used to satisfy this Enrollment Requirement.

Students in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences take required courses in chemistry, physics, and the biological sciences. In addition, they take elective courses in the humanities, social sciences, and arts. During the third or fourth year, students usually do advanced work in their major, or study abroad in a Northwestern-affiliated program. Students may elect to complete the requirements for a BA degree in WCAS in three years. They may take an additional undergraduate year at Northwestern or elsewhere.

Students in the McCormick School pursue an in-depth education in mathematics, the sciences, and engineering while taking core courses. While the program in medical engineering is tailored for HPME students, students may elect to study in any field of engineering offered at Northwestern. To supplement their technical courses, students also take courses in humanities and the social sciences.

Communication students in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders study the anatomy and physiology of hearing, speech, and the central nervous system as it relates to cognition and memory. They have opportunities to learn how people of all ages hear, speak, and learn — both normally and in the presence of disabling conditions. The students also take courses in chemistry, physics, the biological sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities.

After completing their undergraduate program, HPME students move to the Chicago campus as members of Feinberg's first-year medical school class, which includes students who have completed the traditional four years of premedical education. Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences students who have not received a BA degree qualify for a bachelor of science in medicine following completion of one year of medical school. Communication students qualify for a bachelor of science in communication following completion of one year of medical school. McCormick students receive a bachelor of science in medical engineering. After completion of four years of medical school all HPME students receive the doctor of medicine degree from Feinberg.

Students who wish to be considered candidates for the HPME must complete and return before the December 1 deadline the card (available online or enclosed in the paper undergraduate application for admission) that reports their test scores and requests an HPME application. If the request is approved, the student is sent and must complete the special HPME application in addition to the regular application for admission to the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, McCormick School, or School of Communication by the appropriate deadlines (see Application and Testing Deadlines).

Deadlines for the Honors Program in Medical Education

HPME request card * December 1
HPME application ¹ January 1
Application for admission January 1
Required tests ² December test date
* A request card is available online or in the paper application for admission.
¹ HPME applicants cannot apply for early decision.
² ACT with writing or SAT Reasoning Test, and SAT Subject Tests (results are required in Math Level 2 and Chemistry).

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