Academic Enrichments
Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine offers nearly 200 academic enrichment opportunities designed for students to customize their education to meet their individual goals. Options include advanced degrees, clinical electives, global health and research experiences, selectives, and more.
Dual Degree
Students interested in pursuing multiple degrees, synchronously or asynchronously with their medical education, can do so through accredited institutions or universities.
Global Health
Learners interested in global health issues can embark on life-altering experiences both domestically and abroad while improving healthcare delivery across the globe.
Research
Research opportunities encompass time dedicated to specific projects, development of technological and analytical skillsets, and experiences focused on critical analysis of the medical literature.
Selectives
Selectives leverage flexibility and customization of the learning experience by encouraging innovation, leadership, and career exploration through 1-4 week immersive experiences aimed to facilitate future career goals.
Additional opportunities
There are additional opportunities to enrich your medical school training, including certificate programs, distinction track programs, and opportunities for professional development.
Advanced degree program options
Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine prepares students for every possible career aspiration. Students may combine their academic enrichment time to complete certificate programs, fellowships, or master’s degrees. Mayo Clinic offers several such programs, and students may also complete these programs at institutions external to Mayo Clinic.
In collaboration with the Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Arizona State University (ASU), and several other renowned universities worldwide, we offer a variety of advanced learning programs that offer the ability to obtain a cross-disciplinary professional degree in addition to an M.D. degree.
Students who have completed two or three years of the M.D. program and are in good standing are eligible to participate in a complementary degree-granting academic enrichment experience. Applications to these experiences are all completed post-matriculation.
Featured dual degree opportunities
- Health System Science (M.S.)
- Juris Doctor (J.D.)
Health System Science (M.S.)
Health System Science (M.S.)
Longitudinal Dual Degree Opportunity
Health System Science is the study of systems, processes, leadership and management used to optimize health care delivery and health for all while providing students with the competencies to contribute to and lead a patient-centered, safe and cost-effective health care system.
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Juris Doctor (J.D.)
Juris Doctor (J.D.)
Academic Leave of Absence Dual Degree Opportunity
Combining your M.D. degree with a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at ASU will prepare you for leadership roles in a variety of health care institutions, for developing health care policies, and for careers in medicine.
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Global health study and travel opportunities
Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine is committed to providing global health opportunities with several foreign and domestic medical schools with whom MCASOM and other medical staff have faculty ties.
Learners interested in global health issues will have an opportunity to embark on a life-altering experience by working abroad and improving healthcare delivery across the globe. Medical students will gain a deeper knowledge of global health issues through an exchange of ideas, research, and creative educational efforts and resources.
These global health opportunities offer diverse, excellent, safe, and life-changing global health rotations and research options to medical students throughout their four years of medical school.
Featured global health opportunities
- Mayo International Health Program (MIHP)
- Global Surgery: Part I
Mayo International Health Program (MIHP)
Mayo International Health Program (MIHP)
1-2 Weeks or 3-8 Weeks Global Health Selective
The Mayo International Health Program (MIHP) helps Mayo learners pursue elective rotations to learn and assist in providing medical care to underserved international populations in well planned and mentored settings.
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Global Surgery: Part I
Global Surgery: Part I
Longitudinal Global Health Selective
This selective is intended to provide medical students with an understanding of the realities, opportunities, challenges, and skills associated with practicing surgery in a global setting, with an emphasis on resource-poor environments and sustainable partnership.
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Research
Along with clinical skills development and reasoning, formulating hypothesis-driven research is an integral part of advancing medical knowledge and discovery as part of a physician and scientist. At Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine, research is closely knitted and integrated into your M.D. program curriculum.
Throughout our Doctor of Medicine program, students have ample opportunities for research. Students have ready access to Mayo's extensive research resources, more than 6 million medical histories, and multiple well-staffed research core facilities and mentors from every medical and surgical subspecialty.
This process includes:
- Learning the discipline and rigor of hypothesis-driven research
- Understand the statistical methods that are commonly used in biomedical studies (FunCaTS – Fundamentals of Clinical and Translational Science module)
- Reviewing and critically evaluating existing medical literature as a basis for composing a research proposal
- Writing a quality proposal to justify and describe the research project that the student will complete
- Completing the planned studies under the supervision of an experienced Mayo investigator
- Learning the skills to present scientific data at a local or national meeting by presenting research
- Writing a scientific paper for publication
Featured research opportunities
- Statistics & Research Education
- Paracelsus Medical University in Austria
- Distinction in Biomedical Ethics
Statistics & Research Education
Statistics & Research Education
1-2 Weeks Research Selective
Learn important, useful concepts and skills for research endeavors in a self-paced, low-pressure way, using the online Essentials of Clinical and Translational Science (ECATS) and JMP statistical software modules. Option to meet with a Mayo statistician if you have a dataset you need help analyzing.
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Paracelsus Medical University in Austria
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Paracelsus Medical University in Austria
3-8 Week Academic LOA Global Health Research Opportunity
Experience research and health care in Austria! Participate in a one-to-three-month research or clinical opportunities are available at the Paracelsus Medical University in Austria.
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Distinction in Biomedical Ethics
Distinction in Biomedical Ethics
Longitudinal Distinction Track
The Distinction in Biomedical Ethics Track is designed to provide students with the opportunity to gain additional bioethics knowledge and specialized research skills in bioethics beyond the content provided in the standard curriculum.
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Selectives
Selectives are offered throughout all four years of medical school. Selectives enable students to experience the self-directed approach behind the design of the medical curriculum, emphasizing personal responsibility for the learning experience.
Selective blocks may be utilized for career exploration, working in underserved communities, remedial activities, exploration of research interests, research presentations, achieving higher-level learning objectives through reflection, enhancing clinical skills, or any activity related to medical education that is not directly provided for in the medical curriculum.
Selectives may be self-proposed or selected from a list of available clinical experiences organized through Mayo Clinic. Activities are not restricted to Mayo Clinic's campuses in Rochester, Minnesota; Scottsdale, Arizona; or Jacksonville, Florida, and may be embarked upon in Mayo Clinic Health System, or other national and international medical centers.
The student experience: Jordan Pollock
One of my favorite selectives was the radiology selective. It was incredible because it was in my first few months of medical school. I think one of the benefits here is that at Mayo Clinic you get involved in the clinical experiences early if you want to.
Jordan Pollock
Class of 2024
Featured selectives opportunities
- Street Medicine
- Medical Spanish
- Family Medicine Clerkship Preparation
Street Medicine
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Street Medicine
Longitudinal Selective in Minnesota
Street Medicine is an emerging field focused on delivering health and social services to the unsheltered homeless in their own environment, and “to engage people experiencing homelessness where they are and on their own terms to reduce or eliminate barriers to care access and follow-through.”
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Medical Spanish
Medical Spanish
Longitudinal Global Health Selective in Arizona or Minnesota
The primary objective of the class is to enhance medical students’ ability to communicate with Spanish-speaking patients so that they can build a better relationship with their patients and put them more at ease in the provider-patient role. You will improve your medical Spanish skills through practice obtaining histories and physical exams in Spanish, as well as learning how to effectively use interpreters in the clinical setting.
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Family Medicine Clerkship Preparation
Family Medicine Clerkship Preparation
3-8 Week Selective in Minnesota
This course is designed to facilitate a smooth transition into clinical rotations by helping learners to improve electronic health record skills, to quickly find valuable clinical information, and to solidify history and exam skills. Prerequisites required.
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Additional opportunities
In addition to our main academic enrichment opportunities, there are additional opportunities you can pursue to complement your medical school training, including certificate programs, distinction track programs, and opportunities for professional development.
Certificate
Certificate programs are designed for students to develop and strengthen knowledge in a specific thematic discipline or field of study.
Distinction track
Distinction track programs are generally less rigorous than certificate programs, but allow for specialized concentration within a medical discipline, bolstering a student's knowledge base in this area.
Professional development
Students can take advantage of various opportunities through continuing education and career training fellowships. Credit towards a student's M.D. is not awarded in these circumstances.