Doctor of Medicine (MD) -- Maine Track

Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM), in partnership with Maine Medical Center (MMC) in Portland Maine, offers a "Maine Track" for applicants who are interested in a unique, innovative curriculum that will offer clinical training experiences in Maine and expose medical students to the unique aspects of rural practice as well as training in a major tertiary medical center.

The majority of students complete an innovative nine-month Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship (LIC) during third year. Based in many rural sites and in Portland, the LIC provides a strong educational approach and allows for excellent career exploration and close faculty mentoring. Students are assigned to third year options based on a lottery where student choices are taken into consideration regarding participation in the rural LIC, the Portland-based urban LIC or the traditional block clerkship.

Both Tufts and MMC have committed to aggressively pursuing support that will allow Maine Track students to attend medical school without an unusual financial hardship. Plans are to seek grant support, philanthropy, and state funding to subsidize tuition for the Maine Track students with the goal of reducing the tuition to a level comparable to in-state tuition at a regional medical school within a public university. (See tuition support update in sidebar)

Legal residents of the state of Maine will be given preference. Other applicants with strong ties to Maine (such as primary undergraduate institution in Maine) and those with an interest in the practice of rural medicine are encouraged to apply. Graduates of the program will receive a combined diploma from TUSM and MMC with the expectation that a significant number of graduates from the Maine Track will establish medical practice in Maine. Read more about the partnership between TUSM and MMC and the overall goals of the program.

Curriculum:

Students participating in the "Maine Track" will spend their first two years primarily on the Boston Campus, with some specific curriculum components done in Maine, and then move to Maine for the entire clerkship period in year three and portions of the monthly rotations in year four.

Admissions:

Individuals who apply to the Maine Track will be reviewed for the two separate tracks: the Maine Track and the regular M.D. Track. Applicants for the Maine Track will be interviewed at Maine Medical Center in Portland, ME. Applicants for the regular M.D. Track will be interviewed at Tufts in Boston. Applicants can be selected to interview at both sites and be considered for admission to both Tracks.

Admission to the Maine Track will be jointly selected by committees representing both Tufts University School of Medicine and Maine Medical Center. Read more about applying to the Maine Track.

Special Admissions Option:

In addition to the standard "Maine Track" we offer a Maine Track Early Assurance Program for eligible students at participating institutions. The institutions currently in this program are: Bates College, Bowdoin College, Colby College and University of Maine (all campuses). This early assurance program offers successful applicants acceptance into the Maine Track of TUSM at the end of their sophomore year. As long as accepted applicants continue to fulfill all eligibility requirements, they will be guaranteed a seat in the entering medical school class two years later as part of the Maine Track program.

Read more about the Maine Track Early Assurance Program.