Prospective Students FAQ

Opportunities to transfer into Feinberg are rare and limited to students in good standing at accredited allopathic U.S. or Canadian medical schools located in the U.S. or Canada. Successful transfer students will have a premedical academic record similar to that of the class they will be joining. Applications for transfer into the third year of medical studies, based on hardship, are considered.  

Potential transfer students, if they meet the above requirements for transfer, are advised to send our office a transfer request letter sometime in the fall/early winter preceding the year of desired transfer (no later than Feb. 15). Additional information will be provided by our office at that point. The request may be emailed to the MD Admissions office at med-admissions@northwestern.edu. Students who are not accepted for transfer will be notified by April 1. 

Yes, Feinberg does accept international students. International students are encouraged to apply if they have completed at least three years of coursework (135 quarter hours/90 semester hours), including the required pre-med coursework, at an accredited U.S. or Canadian college or university located in the United States or Canada. The coursework can be either undergraduate or graduate level coursework, or a combination of both degree levels. We will make an exception to our three years of course work at an accredited U.S. or Canadian college or university requirement, for students who have completed at least 3 years of coursework at a university/college in the British Isles (such as the U.K.), Australia or New Zealand.  A bachelor's degree is required prior to matriculation. This policy applies to all applicants, regardless of their citizenship status. 

Learn more about the Application Process.

The entering class of 2024 included five international students from Argentina, Congo, Ireland, Israel, Korea

The entering class of 2023 included one international student from China.

The entering class of 2022 included six international students from Canada, China, Ireland, South Korea, and Togo.

The entering class of 2021 included two international students: one from Canada, and one from China.

The entering class of 2020 included one international student from The Republic of Korea.

The entering class of 2019 included six international students. One each came from the following countries: Canada, China, Cuba, India, The Republic of Korea and Turkey. 

The entering class of 2018 included two international students: one from China, and one from Hong Kong.

The Northwestern Undergraduate Premedical Scholars Program (NUPSP) is an early MD acceptance program into the Feinberg School of Medicine for high-achieving Northwestern University undergraduate students with a demonstrated commitment to pursuing a career as a physician.

Students are accepted during their third undergraduate year for matriculation into the Feinberg School after their fourth or senior year at Northwestern University.  

Yes! We welcome all applicants, including nontraditional students (generally defined as those who have taken two or more years off between undergraduate studies and matriculation to medical school). View our Entering Class Profile to see the percentage of non-traditional students.

The Feinberg School of Medicine offers two dual-degrees master's programs that can be pursued over the course of the traditional four-year MD curriculum: Master's in Public Health (MD/MPH) and a master's in Medical Humanities & Bioethics (MD/MA). These are offered part-time and are completely integrated into the Feinberg curriculum. This makes it possible to pursue expertise in these important areas, leading to an even broader base of experience and medical knowledge.   

The MD/MPH degree is an integrated medical and public health program for medical students. The part-time program consists of evening classes offered on the Chicago campus. Required coursework is included from the following disciplines: behavioral science, epidemiology, environmental health and healthcare management. Electives are offered in epidemiology and biostatistics, public health issues in the community, global health, public health law and research methodology. Students gain field experience during a project with a public health or community agency and are also required to do a public health project as their area of scholarly concentration, with both a paper and a podium presentation.

The Medical Humanities & Bioethics Program (MD/MA) offers a Master of Arts degree examining medicine and its ethics through various academic disciplines. Students attend lectures and classes offering cultural, philosophical, legal, literary and historical insight on the field of medicine. The program provides a rigorous master's-level education that aims to give students a richer view of medicine. Graduates will be able to use their multidisciplinary knowledge and skills in teaching, advising and ethical decision-making.

In addition, there are two degree options that can be completed by taking an additional year of classes. Students apply for these degree programs during their third year of medical school.

The MD/MBA joint degree is offered through Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. Students apply during their third year of medical school. After completing the third year, students will enroll at Kellogg and spend approximately one year doing coursework exclusively through the Kellogg MS in Management studies program based on the Chicago campus. They return to medical school to complete their fourth-year rotations while finishing evening classes at Kellogg.

The MD/MS in Health Services & Outcomes Research option is offered through The Graduate School at Northwestern University. The MS degree is completed by taking one year of full-time graduate coursework. The program prepares students to create and disseminate new knowledge aimed at improving health policy, healthcare delivery and patient outcomes. The curriculum includes biostatistics, quantitative methods and study design, qualitative methods, health economics, grant writing and writing for peer review publications, as well as applied ethics and health policy. All master’s students complete a capstone research project that culminates in the submission of a manuscript for publication.

The Feinberg School of Medicine offers a dual degree, the MD/MS in Health Services & Outcomes Research, which prepares students to conduct interdisciplinary research aimed at improving health policy, healthcare delivery and patient outcomes. Students apply to the program during their third year of medical school and take an additional year of coursework through The Graduate School between the third and fourth year of the medical curriculum. The master’s curriculum includes biostatistics, quantitative methods and study design, qualitative methods, health economics, grant writing and writing for peer review publications, as well as applied ethics and health policy. All students complete a capstone research project that culminates in the submission of a manuscript for publication. This graduate training prepares students to conduct further research during residency and fellowship years in preparation for research careers in academic medicine.