Binary Program-Bachelor in Natural Sciences and Medicine

University of Puerto Rico and Ponce Health Sciences University

Program Description

Ponce Health Sciences School of Medicine (PHSU-SOM) and the university of Puerto Rico, Ponce Campus (UPR-Ponce) have established an agreement to increase post-graduation opportunities for UPR-Ponce students by identifying qualified bilingual (English and Spanish) candidates for admission into the medical education programs of PHSU who contribute to PHSU’s mission. Through this agreement, more students will have the opportunity to continue a medical career in a Liaison Committee on Medical Education accredited medical education program. At the same time, they will decrease the time necessary to complete these careers and reduce education costs.

Students will complete three years of the required undergraduate curriculum at the University of Puerto Rico, Ponce Campus, and then enter Ponce Health Science University School of Medicine (PHSU-SOM) if they comply with the established requirements.

Eligibility for the Binary Program:

Candidates for the binary BS-MD program must have graduated from high school with a cumulative grade point average of 3.50 or greater and have a combined score of 1820 in the College Board PAA examination with a minimum score of 600 in Mathematics and Reading & Writing sections (unless otherwise agreed to by both parties). Students applying to UPR-Ponce must have completed in high school at least one (1) year courses in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and three (3) years of Mathematics, to be considered for the program. They need to receive a favorable recommendation after the interview with the UPR-Ponce Admissions Committee of the combined BS-MD program.

Admissions Requirements to the PHSU MD Program

In order to be considered for admission to the to the PHSU-SOM medical education program the candidate from the PHSU-UPR-Ponce binary program must:

1. Maintain a GPA of at least 3.2 each semester
2. Have a GPA of 3.50 or more
3. Have a minimum GPA of 3.5 in science courses
4. No D or F in any course
5. Maximum of one withdrawal (W) in any course
6. Have a minimum MCAT Score of 496
7. No disciplinary actions against the candidate during their time at the UPR-Ponce
8. Submit the application for admission to the PHSU-SOM by November 15 of their third year of studies at UPR-Ponce.
9. Meet all admission requirements of PHSU-SOM, including that the student is bilingual in English and Spanish.
10. Completion or in the process of completing the following pre-requisite courses on undergraduate education:
    1. General Biology - one year with laboratory or 8 semester hours
    2. Physics - one year with laboratory or 8 semester hours
    3. General or Inorganic Chemistry - one year with laboratory or 8 semester hours
    4. Organic Chemistry - one year with laboratory or 8 semester hours
    5. English - 6 semester hours
    6. Spanish - 3 semester hours
11. To be eligible to the Bachelor Degree in Natural Sciences after completion of the first year of medical students the candidate must comply with the curricular sequence required by the UPR-Ponce.
12. Favorable decision of the admission committee of the PHSU medical education program.

Degree completion

Successful candidates must complete the Bachelor Degree in Natural Sciences from UPR-Ponce one (1) year after matriculation at PHSU-SOM by transferring credits from the first-year medical studies to UPR-Ponce and following all requirements on that behalf from UPR-Ponce.

University of Puerto Rico, Ponce Campus -Ponce Health Sciences University