Admissions
Building a community dedicated to education excellence.
Regional Focus
More than 95 percent of the UW School of Medicine acceptances are applicants from Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho (WWAMI).
Commitment to Equity
Our objective is to create a community that encourages participation and connection and values each person’s unique contributions, regardless of socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, language, nationality, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, spiritual practice, geography, mental and physical status and age.
Contemporary Training
Our curriculum features a more active, "flipped" classroom approach. Clinical skills are taught in classroom, outpatient and hospital settings beginning with immersion prior to the start of classes.
M.D. Program
The UW School of Medicine (UWSOM) is proud of the depth and breadth of our five-state school. From Foundations of Clinical Medicine through clinical education opportunities that exist throughout the WWAMI region, we are committed to excellence in medical education—it is fundamental to who we are. Students will train in their home state of residence for the first 18 months. Foundation sites are Anchorage, AK, Bozeman, MT, Laramie, WY, Moscow, ID, Seattle, WA, and Spokane, WA. Non-WWAMI state residents will spend their first 18 months in the Seattle site. Successfully completing the MD program allows graduates to apply for residency training, the next phase of physician training required for licensure. In Admissions, our goal is to select a regionally representative and inclusive student body that will one day care for an increasingly diverse public. All eligible persons are encouraged to apply regardless of race, sex, and other identity. The UWSOM is committed to broadening access for all students including individuals with backgrounds underrepresented in medicine.
We’ve created this website to educate the public about how our application process works and what we look for in future doctors. Please see the links below for detailed information about our process, and our Resources page is a great place to start for preparation and application advice!
Am I Eligible to Apply?
Applicants must meet the essential requirements and technical standards and complete the pre-medical course requirements. Applications from persons who have failed to meet minimum standards at this or another medical (M.D. or D.O.) or dental school will not be considered. The UW School of Medicine will not automatically or unreasonably deny an applicant’s admission or restrict access to campus residency based on an applicant’s criminal history.
- Applicants are verified legal residents of a WWAMI state or are considered as Out-of-Region.
- Out-of-Region applicants are considered if they have ties to a WWAMI state AND come from either economically or educationally disadvantaged backgrounds and/or who have demonstrated a commitment to serving underserved populations.
- More information about how applicants verify their WWAMI residency and the ties for Out-of-Region applicants can be found on our State Eligibility page.
- Applicants must have United States citizenship or permanent residency (green card).
- International and Canadian applicants without a green card will not be considered.
- Permanent residence documentation is part of the application requirement.
- Applicants with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) who reside in a WWAMI state and who are legally authorized and recognized by their state’s residency office as a resident for WWAMI educational purposes will be considered for admission to the MD only program.
- Applicants may only submit 3 completed applications.
Application steps:
Complete the pre-medical course requirements through a college or university before matriculating, and preferably before applying to medical school. Community college and online coursework is accepted. Institutions should be accredited by a regional accrediting organization.
Take the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) exam no later than September 30 of the year prior to possible matriculation.
Situational Judgement tests, such as Casper or PREview, are not required for consideration for admission. Decisions on applicants will be made only on the basis of their submitted application and interview.
Apply to the UW School of Medicine (and other medical schools) through the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS), a centralized application processing service. On this primary application, you will designate the medical schools you are applying to. For the UW School of Medicine, the deadline for submitting this application for the 2026 academic year is October 1, 2025 11:59pm Eastern.
Read and be aware of the Application and Acceptance Protocols for Applicants on the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) website.
Submit the Secondary Application if you have received an invitation to proceed with the application process from the UW School of Medicine. The secondary application deadline is November 15.
There are optional sections on the Secondary Application to apply to special programs CUSP and the TRUST. If you are interested in also applying to CUSP, all application materials are due before their deadlines (CUSP deadline is November 1 and TRUST deadline is November 15).
Please Note: Medical Scientist Training Program (M.D./Ph.D.) applicants will need to initiate the preliminary application on the MSTP website. Applicants applying to BOTH the M.D./Ph.D. and the M.D.-only program will need to submit two applications (one to each program). Check with the MSTP office for its application deadlines.
Your letter writers must submit your letters of evaluation/recommendation to the AMCAS service. Letters need to be on official letterhead stationery and include the author's signature. It is your responsibility as an applicant to make it clear to your letter writers that the letters are required to be on letterhead and signed prior to being submitted. Letters of recommendation that are missing letterhead and/or a signature will be given less consideration.
The deadline for receipt of these letters is as part of the Secondary Application, due November 15 at 11:59pm PT. Keep in mind, it may take AMCAS several days to process and get them to us, so make sure AMCAS has your letters well before November.
Washington residents should be prepared to prove their state residency at any point in the admissions process. Residents of Wyoming, Alaska, Montana or Idaho are required to provide certification of declared legal residency to complete your secondary application.
The Office of Admissions stands firmly by our deadlines, there will be no extensions granted.
After submitting a completed secondary application, applicants will be reviewed for competitiveness. Selected applicants will receive an interview invitation by email. Interviews take place between September and February.
The Executive Committee meets regularly from October through February. Decisions are made on a rolling basis.
Prospective student resources
Graduating Physicians that Reflect the Diversity of Washington - 2021 Senate Bill 5228
In 2021, the Washington State Legislature enacted a law addressing disproportionate health outcomes by building a foundation of equity in medical training. Pursuant to RCW 28B.10.699 , UW School of Medicine has developed the following goal.
Goal: The University of Washington School of Medicine will strive to produce graduates that reflect the diverse population of the state of Washington with a special focus on populations that are underrepresented in the medical profession.
Method: The School of Medicine deploys a series of strategies to meet this goal. Activities, programs, and events related to these strategies in 2023 are included in this report, and in 2022 in this report.
Targeted Rural Underserved Track
The Targeted Rural Underserved Track (TRUST) is a UW School of Medicine program administered by the Department of Family Medicine. It provides students with the experience to practice in rural and underserved communities throughout the Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho region.
Community-focused Urban Scholars Program
The Community-focused Urban Scholars Program (CUSP) is a UW School of Medicine program administered by the Office of Healthcare Equity. It provides students with the experience to practice in under-resourced urban communities in the WWAMI region.
M.D./Ph.D. Program (MSTP)
The Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) is designed for highly qualified candidates who wish to obtain both M.D. and Ph.D. degrees and to pursue careers in basic medical research. Selection for this program is national in scope and is not restricted to residents of Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana or Idaho. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or currently hold permanent resident status.
Approximately 10 medical scientist trainees are accepted per year. Each trainee is permitted a wide choice of research specializations from among numerous disciplines and interdisciplinary areas of biomedical research.
The typical program is seven to eight years in duration and emphasizes continuity of both clinical and basic science exposure.
Participating graduate departments include, but are not limited to, Biochemistry, Bioengineering, Biostatistics, Biological Structure, Epidemiology, Environmental Health, Genome Sciences, Global Health (Pathobiology), Immunology, Microbiology, Pathology, Pharmacology, Physiology and Biophysics. The participating interdepartmental and affiliate programs are Neurobiology and Behavior and Molecular and Cellular Biology. Our students conduct research in diverse research facilities including Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle Biomedical Research Institute, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Harborview Medical Center and Benaroya Research Institute.
Medical Scientist Training Program Application
The Medical Scientist Training Program application is available to all qualified U.S. applicants. After the UW School of Medicine receives the AMCAS application, applicants must submit an MSTP preliminary application by visiting the MSTP website.
The deadline for submitting AMCAS applications is October 15 and applicants must list their interest in the UW School of Medicine M.D./Ph.D. program.
All UW School of Medicine MSTP applications must be completed (including supplemental materials) by their posted deadline. Please contact the MSTP office (mstp@uw.edu) with any questions.