Exceptional student? Laser focused on a medical career? Our seven-year medical and optometry programs were designed for students like you. Successful applicants enter the program as first-year TCNJ students, with guaranteed admission to our partner schools of medicine or optometry. A rigorous curriculum and expert guidance from dedicated program advisers keep students on track to transfer seamlessly into a four-year degree program in medicine or optometry after the junior year at TCNJ.
Students in our accelerated seven-year program are accepted into our partner medical school at the same time they matriculate into TCNJ—effectively, a 100% admission rate into medical school.
Looking to keep your options open? The seven-year program is not the only route to medical school. You can still take the more traditional path, applying to a medical school of your choice. These students receive personalized advisement on all aspects of preparation for medical school from the expert faculty members of our Medical Careers Advisory Committee. Over the past five years, between 60 and 65% of TCNJ students who applied in their senior year to medical school were accepted, significantly above the national average of 45%.
Our commitment, in the School of Science, is to provide all students who are interested in pursuing medicine with the very best preparation for success in—not merely admission to—medical or optometry school.
Seven-Year Medical Program Options
Get accepted into medical school at the same time you matriculate into TCNJ in our accelerated, seven-year medical program. This joint-degree program offers outstanding high school seniors the opportunity for dual admission to both TCNJ and Rutgers’ New Jersey Medical School. Students spend three years at TCNJ pursuing an approved major in a science or non-science discipline. After their junior year at TCNJ, students transfer to New Jersey Medical School and complete their medical studies in four years. Successful candidates graduate with a BS or BA from TCNJ and an MD from New Jersey Medical School in seven years.
This accelerated medical program is highly selective. To apply, students must meet academic eligibility requirements, including a minimum SAT score of at least 1400 from a single sitting and placement in the top 10% of their high school class. Applications must be made by December 1 of the senior year of high school for August admission to TCNJ; transfer students are not eligible for admission.
Learn more about this program.
Science Majors
Students accepted into the seven-year medical program with an approved science major matriculate into the School of Science. No matter which major you pursue, your course load per semester is the same as that of any other full-time TCNJ student, and no summer classes are required as long as the curriculum is followed. Students choose among four joint-degree options in science:
- Biology (BS)/Doctor of Medicine (MD)
- Chemistry (BS)/Doctor of Medicine (MD)
- Computer Science (BS)/Doctor of Medicine (MD)
- Mathematics (BA)/Doctor of Medicine (MD)
- Physics (BS)/Doctor of Medicine (MD)
The hallmark of our program is flexibility; students enjoy a full college experience and have time for creative explorations within and beyond TCNJ. Our students have minored in American Sign Language, double-majored in biology and mathematics, and taken courses at Harvard. They have conducted research, volunteered in underserved communities, and spent semesters abroad as far away as Japan. Broader experience and deeper perspectives shape better physicians.
A dedicated faculty adviser helps our seven-year medical students make the most of their three years at TCNJ. Working with you individually, understanding your goals and interests, your adviser can guide you toward a well-rounded college experience at TCNJ while keeping you on track to fulfill your medical school requirements.
Learn more about these majors.
Non-Science Majors
Students who wish to pursue the seven-year medical program with a non-science major matriculate into these TCNJ schools offering approved majors:
- School of Business: economics
- School of Engineering: biomedical engineering, engineering science (with a mechanical or electrical emphasis)
- School of Humanities and Social Science: English, history, philosophy, Spanish
Learn more about these majors.
Seven-Year Optometry Program
Biology (BS)/Doctor of Optometry (OD)
Successful applicants to our seven-year optometry program enter TCNJ as a first-year biology student with assured admission to SUNY State College of Optometry, consistently ranked as one of the top two optometry schools in the country (and one of the most affordable). This highly selective seven-year program allows outstanding students to attend TCNJ for three years before transferring to SUNY for four years, completing both a BS and an OD in seven years.
Far from overloading students with coursework, the program is designed to ensure students a complete college experience. You take an average course load, and no summer courses are required as long as the curriculum is followed. Close guidance from a dedicated faculty adviser helps you to balance the program’s academic requirements with all the options available to TCNJ students: take electives, study abroad, explore campus life, and pursue a minor or even a second major.
Academic requirements for admission are rigorous; applicants must have a minimum SAT score of 1300 in critical reading and math, with the math score at least 670, and place in the top 10% of their high school class. Applications must be made by December 1 during the senior year of high school for August admission to TCNJ. First-year TCNJ students may be considered for transfer into the seven-year optometry program on a case-by-case basis.