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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Fourth Legislature, First Regular Session
combined degree pilot; medical school
Purpose
Requires the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) and the University of Arizona Medical School (UA Medical School) to develop a combined degree pilot program allowing qualified students to be directly admitted into the UA Medical School.
Background
The UA College of Medicine was founded in 1967 as Arizona's only Doctor of Medicine degree-granting college and now includes two campuses in Phoenix and Tucson. The UA College of Medicine in Phoenix admits approximately 80 students per academic year, including 62 Arizona residents and 18 from out of state. The UA College of Medicine in Tucson admits approximately 125 students per academic year, including 92 Arizona residents and 33 from out of state.
All applicants must have at least a 3.0 undergraduate grade point average and score at least 498 on the Medical College Admissions Test. All prerequisite courses must be taken at an accredited college or university within the United States or Canada prior to admission and these courses must include biology, chemistry, physics and English (UA College of Medicine).
The Arizona Constitution establishes ABOR as the governing entity for Arizona's university system which consists of Arizona State University (ASU), Northern Arizona University (NAU) and the University of Arizona (UA) (Ariz. Const. art. 11 § 5). Statute provides and defines ABORs general authority related to the universities, including fixing tuition rates and fees, establishing curricula, designating courses and prescribing student admissions qualifications to the universities (A.R.S. § 15-1626).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Requires ABOR, in consultation with the UA Medical School, to develop a combined degree pilot program that allows direct admission into the UA Medical School if a student:
a) pursues and earns a baccalaureate degree at ASU, NAU or UA; and
b) meets other specified criteria.
2. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Prepared by Senate Research
February 7, 2019
JO/gs