Prospective Applicants
It is best for prospective students to start reviewing the information provided by the AAMC for individuals considering medical school. From there, it is recommended to make yourself familiar with all the requirements of the school(s) you want to apply to. This can be done by visiting their websites or utilizing the Medical School Admissions Requirements database (MSAR).
In addition, all pre-med should start talking to their undergraduate/school academic and pre-professional advising centers. These are typically two separate offices on a college campus. Career services centers may also offer some additional resources when considering graduate programs.
Finally, it’s good to reach out to your selected medical schools and become a part of their prospective student database so they can invite you to workshops or other informational events.
To talk with the Kerkorian School of Medicine specifically or get access to additional resources, please visit our Getting Started webpage. Our application requirements are also available online.
Yes, we do! They can be found on our Events page. Information sessions are virtual on Zoom and occur one to two times per month starting in September and going through early June. RSVP is required.
All pre-applicants are directed to attend an information session prior to any additional advising with the school.
If you have a quick question, we also highly recommend emailing us at admissions@medicine.unlv.edu for the fastest response.
If you are a pre-med advisor, college representative, or K-12 representative, please also contact our office of diversity, equity, and inclusion at diversity@medicine.unlv.edu.
We do offer a formalized building tour program of the Kirk Kerkorian Medical Education Building (MEB) in the Las Vegas Medical District for pre-applicants, applicants, interviewees, and admitted applicants on select Fridays starting in September and going through early May.
Tour attendees should be at least 16 years or older to participate and registrants can bring up to two guests. These tours are led by student ambassadors. RSVP is required, and parking is free.
To find an upcoming tour date and register, please visit our Events page.
Due to security, we respectfully ask individuals to not show up at MEB without an appointment or confirmed event participation.
Information about our four-year graduate degree program can be found on our MD Program webpage. The summaries provided will outline our three-phase approach to completing your doctorate degree.
No. Students may choose from any specialty they wish to pursue in residency. Clinical experiences in the curriculum do span major areas such as: family medicine, internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, psychiatry, and OB/GYN.
View our graduating class' matched specialties and locations.
Yes, the Kerkorian School of Medicine now offers an MD/MBA and MD/MPH. These programs are step-out studies after Phase 1 curriculum and the passing of Step 1. Students who are interested apply through the office of student affairs and have a leave of absence to join a year with MBA or MPH. Upon return, students are placed into the clerkships pre-training and rotations.
No. Not at this time.
No. Your bachelor’s degree must be from a U.S. regionally accredited institution. If you have a bachelor’s degree that is international but complete a graduate degree (master’s or higher) in the U.S., you may use the graduate degree to apply.
Please note, you must also be a U.S. citizen or have permanent residency to apply. DACA students are also considered on a case-by-case basis – restrictions may apply.
- Three biology courses, one of which must have a laboratory component.
- One biochemistry course (which should have organic chemistry prerequisites as well).
- One behavioral science course in psychology or sociology that is applicable to healthcare.
These courses must be done at a U.S. college or university that is regionally accredited and must have been completed less than 10 years prior to the time of application.
Yes.
Visit the Student Financial Services page for more information.
Please visit our Applicants webpage or find us listed in the AAMC MSAR database.
Not at this time, but this is part of a future strategic planning initiative. Prospective applicants that may require post-baccalaureate studies should visit the AAMC website and database for programs nationwide. It is also highly recommended to talk to your campus pre-med or pre-professional advising center for support, especially if you are going to be seeking non-degree or non-certificate post-bacc studies to meet application prerequisites.
Applicants
COVID-19
The Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV will accept an MCAT taken by October 1st.
Yes, submit your application with all the other components. When your MCAT score is ready, it will come to us for your application.
Yes, please see the COVID section at the top of our Applicants page.
Some form of clinical experience is required by our admissions committee (physician shadowing, scribing, field work in another medical role, etc.), and typically we like to see longitudinal work at 75 hours or more. With the height of the pandemic behind us and opportunities mostly restored, clinical experiences should, at a minimum, be in progress at the time of application with anticipated hours reported on the AMCAS experiences area.
Yes, this will be included in the Secondary Application. You can indicate a delay with the MCAT, an inability to do a clinical experience, the requirements of a P/F by your institution, a family or economic hardship, etc.
Admissions
Applicants use the American Medical College Admissions Service (AMCAS).
For the most part, no, and changes are typically only those allowable by AMCAS.
We do ask that you have accurate contact information, so please go through AMCAS to update email, mailing, permanent, or phone on your file.
If you are waiting for an MCAT retake score, that will update automatically as long as the test was taken by the application deadline of October 1.
If any courses are in progress at the time of application, the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV may contact you directly to request unofficial transcripts as needed to prove completion but that course will not factor into your GPA already calculated from AMCAS.
If you have any issues with letters of recommendation, the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine may also contact you directly to request corrections or additional letters.
The secondary application is an area to provide additional information as there is an optional essay box for details not included in other areas.
The Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine does NOT take letters of intent as these are not read by our admissions committee.
All prerequisites should be completed or in-progress at the time of application. For those in progress, it must be for the summer session or fall semester of the application cycle. We do not take courses anticipated for an upcoming spring. In the case of spring work, we would recommend you wait a cycle to apply.
At the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV, clinical experiences are defined as a period where you are with a physician who is actively seeing patients. This can be done through things like physician shadowing, hospital or clinic scribing, licensed practical nurse/registered nurse (LPN/RN), medical assistance, etc. It is important that the physician pairing is present regularly.
- Experiences where an applicant is mostly patient-facing (without a doctor there most of the time) or is more back office-focused in a healthcare setting does not qualify. Some paid medical such as certain technician roles do have significant physician interaction and can be considered, but roles that are very patient facing or lab tech in nature are not as applicable and should be considered “paid medical” in AMCAS.
- Research with a physician may have qualifying components for clinical experience if they include shadowing a doctor while seeing/treating patients, but this tends to be rare, even in clinical trials, as the patient interaction is often just data collection and not full medical care.
In regard to community service, this can be medical or non-medical in nature and involves unpaid service that is often with a non-profit or community-facing organization.
- Hospital volunteering is often seen in this category as it’s a public service role that most often is patient-facing (such as information desk, wheelchair transport, pediatric reading programs, behind-the-scenes supply stocking/office support, etc.).
- Community service should be longitudinal in nature as well where an applicant grows with the organization in their volunteer role. Some community service does occur in low-income/free medical clinics and may include scribing or significant time with a physician who is treating patients. This may also qualify for clinical experience, but in the case of being solely patient interaction and support, it remains in community service.
For questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to admissions@medicine.unlv.edu.
Yes, and it must be a 499 or higher. Competitive MCATs are typically at 505 or higher and our average is 509-510. In addition, we cannot accept an MCAT that is more than three years old, and we use the latest MCAT score (not an average or the highest out of your attempts). Your MCAT must be taken by the application deadline of October 1.
The only way to be considered in this situation is to complete postbaccalaureate studies where you do at least 30 credit hours of BCPM study at a 3.2 GPA or higher.
Postbaccalaureate (post-bacc) study can be a formalized program as found in the AAMC database; via a master’s or other doctorate degree that allows you science study at the minimum credit hour; or through non-degree course completion in the sciences (“a la carte” or “DIY”).
In the situation of overcoming a low GPA, it is recommended to have coursework completed or close to complete at the time of application to provide the advanced transcript to the admissions committee. AMCAS will also separately band post-bacc and/or graduate degree GPA performance in your application for the school to review.
Similarly, pairing this post-bacc work with a strong MCAT is highly recommended.
Letters can be submitted by individuals or through a packet/committee.
Three to five letters will be accepted and it's best/recommended to contain a mix of academic, clinical, and community writers. Individuals who know the applicant well and can add to the qualitative nature of the applicant’s activities and experiences described in the application and personal statement are also beneficial.
No, at this time we do not utilize any of those testing components.
Only by the AMCAS Letter Service.
Yes. A conferred degree from a U.S. regionally accredited institution is required prior to matriculation. If an applicant meets the citizenship requirements but has an international bachelor’s degree, they may utilize a qualifying masters or doctorate degree from a U.S. regionally accredited institution along with proof of the prerequisite courses for application, also from a qualifying U.S. college/university.
Yes, it costs $75 and must be paid prior to submitting the secondary application. Applicants with Fee Assistance may have this waived.
Using a holistic review of all application components. Applicants who are Nevada residents or have a significant tie to Nevada are also given priority screening/invitation.
Our mission is to educate physicians who will serve the state of Nevada. Priority will be given to Nevada residents, those who have previously lived in Nevada, and those who have "connections" to the state of Nevada (family, educational history, prior residence, etc.).
A small number of applicants from our listed western region states, who have no Nevada ties, will also be considered.
Yes, students can qualify for loans from the Federal Direct Unsubsidized and Graduate PLUS programs. Our school also has a scholarship program that offers awards to help cover tuition, fees, and/or the cost of attendance. For more information, visit our Student Financial Services website.
Admitted students are required to submit a Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV Scholarship Application and a FAFSA within 10 days of accepting their seat. A scholarship committee makes rolling decisions on scholarship awards throughout the spring.
Interviews occur September through February each year and approximately 300 individuals are invited.
The Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV has a fully virtual interview process with components that are both asynchronous and virtual-live. For more information, please visit our Interview Days page.
Students will participate in a standardized interview format. Applicants will also have an opportunity to learn about the school and its culture, values, and curriculum.
No, due to the requirements of the curriculum.
Deferral requests are not encouraged and will only be considered in unusual circumstances and for serious events.
No. The Admissions Committee does not read or consider letters of intent when reviewing applications.
The Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV will release information and decisions as they become available. You may also email admissions@medicine.unlv.edu but we ask that you keep communications as streamlined as possible.
Effective April 2021, the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV is no longer participating in the Early Decision Program. We recommend that applicants with a strong desire to attend UNLV apply early and with a complete application to be reviewed as soon as possible. Nevada residents and those with ties to Nevada are given priority.
Due to the unique curriculum of the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV, the school will not accept transfer requests.