Missouri S&T students in the College of Engineering and Computing who aspire to become physicians will now have a direct pathway to the University of Missouri School of Medicine after graduating from S&T. 
 
The two universities have collaborated to develop the Physician Engineers Pre-Admission Program, which is now accepting its first round of applicants until May 8.  
 
“The intent of this program is not just to create great opportunities for our engineers who want to become physicians, but also to increase the number of engineers who want to become physicians,” says Dr. Stephen Roberts, S&T’s vice chancellor of strategic initiatives. “As a group, they tend to be among the most competitive applicants to medical schools and are keen to drive technical and logistical innovation in health care.” 
 
The program is designed for undergraduate students from S&T, as well as in Mizzou’s College of Engineering, to apply during the second semester of their second year of classes. Accepted students will be provisionally admitted into medical school and then must continue to meet the program requirements. 
 
“What makes this program especially valuable is that it identifies and supports these students early in their academic careers,” Roberts says. “By offering provisional admission before the traditional medical school application timeline, we can focus on mentoring, professional development and intentional preparation so these students arrive at medical school even more confident and with a stronger sense of what will come next.” 
 
Dr. David Borrok, vice provost and dean of S&T’s College of Engineering and Computing, says the college has a history of graduates attending medical school at Mizzou, but the new program offers a more structured pathway for future students that builds on their engineering backgrounds. 
 
Once students begin medical school, Borrok says they will transition into the Physician Engineer Scholars Program, which will allow them to continue applying an engineering perspective in their medical training.

“Many of our engineering graduates have already had outstanding careers as physicians, but this program will help open doors and allow even more S&T students to take this path,” Borrok says. “Physicians need to approach complex challenges and apply technical solutions to patient care, and that problem-solving mindset is a hallmark of an S&T engineering education.” 
 
For more information about the Physician Engineers Pre-Admission Program, visit prehealth.mst.edu.

About Missouri S&T

Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) is a STEM-focused research university of over 7,000 students located in Rolla, Missouri. Part of the four-campus University of Missouri System, Missouri S&T offers over 100 degrees in 40 areas of study and is among the nation’s top public universities for salary impact, according to the Wall Street Journal. For more information about Missouri S&T, visit www.mst.edu.