A graduate program designed for medical and other doctoral degree applicants

The data collected during the evaluation of the natural science program at Roswell Park revealed a high rate of success in preparing students to enter health and science related careers. An average of 50 percent of the entering students each year had been unsuccessful medical school applicants or students preparing to enter Ph.D. programs following an initial research experience. The program assists students in admission to medical and research programs and encourages research participation. Many graduate programs will not accept or find difficulty dealing with students who have career goals in medicine and are not necessarily in research. This is understandable, especially in Ph.D. granting programs with substantial investments of faculty time and funding. The philosophy of the program reported here is to assist the students to enter the career of their choice; however, at the same time, the faculty members insist on a high level of scholarship in course work and research during the program. With this philosophy, the program continues to be successful in attracting students of high quality.