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One model of the UT System’s "Transformation in Medical Education (TIME) Initiative"

In the SHAPE Partnership, The University of Texas at Austin is paired with UT Southwestern Medical Center and UT Health Science Center - Houston to create an innovative way of educating future professionals across all health professions disciplines.

SHAPE Program
Through the SHAPE partnership, pre-medical students will have the opportunity to apply for early acceptance to medical school. The SHAPE Program allows students to accelerate through undergraduate and medical school curriculum earning a Bachelor’s degree in three years from UT Austin and a medical degree (inclusive of a student-designed flex year) in four. The medical degree would be attained from one of the two medical schools in the partnership, UT Southwestern Medical Center or UT Health Science Center-Houston.

Innovative Educational Experiences
The undergraduate curriculum, innovative in design, will focus on content which is relevant to the student’s medical school success, eliminating redundancy and irrelevant content. This rigorous, competency-based science curriculum will be complemented by seminar courses with content provided by the very best faculty at all three participating institutions.

Participants will attend two summer Medical School immersion experiences hosted by UT Southwestern and UT Health Science Center - Houston. These experiences will occur between undergraduate year 1 and 2 and between undergraduate year 2 and 3.  Content for these four-week programs will include academic and clinical experiences and will provide the student the opportunity to learn more about medical school culture.

Students will participate in special seminar courses which are designed to engage the student in an interactive manner on a variety of topics. Exposure to clinical and scientific research ethics, health care administration, the legal and political environment of medicine, the significance of social and cultural context, and the impact of public health, are just a few examples. These courses will be taught by faculty from the three participating institutions and will occur during each regular semester.

For more details about the program: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Application Process

If you would like to be considered for the SHAPE Program, you must first complete an application to attend The University of Texas at Austin through Apply Texas.

In addition, you must complete the secondary application through Survey Monkey available here:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2013-2014SHAPE

Application Due Date:

Monday, December 3, 2012 by 5:00 pm

Candidates will be notified if they have been selected to come to UT Austin as a SHAPE student by

Monday, March 18, 2013

Please Note: Due to the volume of interest in the SHAPE partnership, we will only schedule campus visits for high school students who have been invited to UT Austin as SHAPE students. Invited students will have the option to visit campus to learn more about the program.

Criteria

The applicant must

• Be admitted to UT Austin and to the College of Natural Sciences or to the Biomedical Engineering Major in the Cockrell School of Engineering
• Be US Citizen or Permanent Resident
• Be a Texas Resident (Actual residency required. This does not apply to students who are given Texas Residency for the purposes of tuition)
• Be available to attend Summer Session II at UT Austin in the summer after high school graduation
• Demonstrate potential for - and commitment to - a career in medicine (evaluated through responses to the online application process)
• Provide a letter of recommendation from a health care professional, business or civic leader, or a high school teacher (with preference for a health care professional). Applicants are limited to submitting one letter of recommendation. Additional documents will not be accepted.

***Please note: The deadline for the letter has been extended to December 10***

Recommendation letter must

• Be signed and include contact information for the letter writer (telephone and email address will suffice)
• Be received by Monday, December 10 at 5:00pm. (If submitted through postal mail, please allow adequate delivery time to make the above deadline.)

Letter may be submitted through email (as an attachment: scanned, signed copy) by sending to                 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Letter may also be submitted through postal mail (see note above about allowing delivery time to meet the deadline) by sending to

The University of Texas at Austin
College of Natural Sciences
Health Professions Office – Attn: SHAPE Program Administrator
103 W. 24^th St. Mail Stop A2900, Painter Hall 5.03
Austin, TX 78712-1441

Applicants admitted to the Biomedical Engineering Major

• Must have scores of 5 on the AP Biology Exam, 5 on the AP Calculus BC Exam, at least a 4 (but preference for a 5) on the AP Chemistry Exam and at least a 3 on the AP Physics C Exams: Electricity and Magnetism, and Mechanics. Please note: SAT Subject tests are not considered by UT Austin for Credit or Placement in the relevant science disciplines

• Strong preference for applicants with a minimum combined Verbal and Quantitative SAT score of 1450 (Sub scores must be from same exam. We will not consider composite scores from multiple exams) or a minimum ACT Composite score of 32

Applicants admitted to the College of Natural Sciences (any major)

• Strong preference for applicants with scores of 5 on the AP Biology Exam, 5 on the AP Calculus BC Exam, and at least a 4 on the AP Chemistry. Please note: SAT Subject tests are not considered by UT Austin for Credit or Placement in the relevant science disciplines

• Strong preference for applicants with a minimum combined Verbal and Quantitative SAT score of 1450 (Sub scores must be from same exam. We will not consider composite scores from multiple exams) or a minimum ACT Composite score of 32

SHAPE Program

Applicants who screen successfully through the online application process will be invited to come to UT Austin prior to the fall semester to begin their progress toward an accelerated three-year degree. They will enroll at UT Austin for Summer Session II in the summer following their graduation from high school.

Summer Orientation

In order to enroll for Summer Session II, SHAPE candidates must attend one of the earlier summer orientation sessions.  This allows the student to meet the orientation requirement prior to the start of Summer Session II (which is July 15, 2013).

Interviews for Early Medical School Admissions

Early in the Spring Semester of the second year at UT Austin, students will interview for a *provisional early acceptance to medical school.

*the medical schools reserve the right to rescind an early admissions offer if a student displays inappropriate behavior (e.g. academic dishonesty, criminal charges, etc.) The medical schools are also in the process of establishing minimums for GPAs (Cumulative and Science) and a plan for the MCAT.

Under consideration currently are a minimum 3.5 Cumulative and a 3.5 Science GPA, and a proctored practice MCAT (no official minimum score has been established but certainly nothing below a 30).

Application Due Date: Monday, December 3, 2012 by 5:00 pm

Being Competitive

Because we are seeking evidence of high academic achievement (through SAT scores and AP Science scores), the best opportunity for competitiveness will come in the last criteria mentioned above “demonstrated potential for – and commitment to – a career in medicine”.  This part of the process is more subtle to assess. Shadowing and volunteering can provide the opportunity to experience some aspects of the career, but we are also looking for depth of understanding and insight into this career choice. Applicants who are well-read in terms of issues which affect either the education/training of physicians or the delivery of care in a complex healthcare system, will certainly stand out.

We realize that having academic credentials and a solid understanding of the career is not enough. We are also seeking integrity, character, and professionalism.  We will be looking for indication of an applicant’s independence, self-awareness, and maturity. These future physician leaders will practice medicine in a dynamic and sometimes challenging environment; therefore, we will also assess the ability to handle adversity, to deal with change, and to be creative in problem-solving.

Please note: This program is still in development. The current plan for the 2013-2014 program year is listed above. As we have not completed our pilot year, there may be adjustments or changes to the plan based on the 2012-2013 year. Notification of changes will be listed on this website - please check back frequently. For more details about the program: SHAPE Partnership FAQ's

Application Due Date: Monday, December 3, 2012 by 5:00 pm