Master of Science in Medical Science

Overview

Help make your dream of launching a medical career a reality.

SCU’s Master of Science in Medical Science (MSMS) program is specifically designed to enhance your academic credentials and competitiveness for entry into medical, dental, physician assistant, veterinarian, or other professional healthcare programs. With a curriculum that directly mimics the first year of medical school, coupled with leading-edge technology and support to help you master content quickly and effectively, we’ll empower you to launch your dreams in as little as 11 months.

Program at a Glance

  • Three formats:
    • 11-month blended
    • 11-month online
    • 20-month online
  • Specifically designed to boost medical school readiness and success (medical, dental, veterinary, nursing, pharmacy, and beyond):
    • Curriculum closely resembles the first year of medical school
    • Dedicated faculty advisors, learning technology that delivers real-time feedback on comprehension, regular exams to assess progress and identify learning gaps, test prep support, personalized dashboards predicting likelihood of passing the USMLE Step #1 exam, and more
    • Eligible students receive guaranteed interviews with SCU’s medical school partner institutions and with SCU’s Physician Assistant program
  • Open to those with a bachelor’s from an accredited institution, including those who did not major in a science-specific field
  • Fixed tuition guarantee, federal financial aid for those who qualify, and a range of institutional scholarship opportunities

Upcoming Start Dates

  • Fall: August 18, 2025 (11-month format), September 2nd, 2025 (20-month format)
  • Spring: January 5th, 2026 (20-month format), January 12th, 2026 (11-month format)
  • Summer:  May 3rd, 2027 (20-month format), May 26th, 2026 (11-month format)

What Sets Our Program Apart?

FOCUSED SQUARELY ON BUILDING MED SCHOOL READINESS

Our master’s in medical science is not just any science-focused master’s degree. It’s specifically designed to improve your odds of getting in and succeeding in medical, dental, veterinary, physician assistant, or other competitive health professional schools.

Not only does our program directly mimic the traditional first year of medical school in its content, pace, and rigor, but we also provide a range of supports to optimize your learning and readiness. You’ll benefit from a dedicated faculty advisor, continuous assessments of your progress, and a personalized dashboard to keep you apprised of where you excel and where there are gaps in your mastery. In addition, all our exams include USMLE-style (United States Medical Licensing Examination®) questions to help prepare you for the type of questions you’ll be asked on future admissions, board, and licensure exams. At the end of your program, we’ll give you the NBME Comprehensive Basic Science Self-Assessments (CBSSA) exam, to further assess your readiness for the USMLE®.

Finally, upon graduation, eligible students will receive guaranteed interviews with our medical school partner institutions  and with our own Physician Assistant program.

PERSONALIZED, TECHNOLOGY-ENHANCED LEARNING

During classroom time, your instructors will use interactive technology like response clickers and other tools to keep you engaged and to gather essential real-time feedback on your understanding of the material, so they may adjust their lessons accordingly. Data collected from this classroom technology (and from comprehensive assessment exams administered at the end of select terms) will populate onto your own personalized dashboard. This informative dashboard will highlight the specific areas in which you excel and the areas that need further attention, while also predicting your likelihood of passing the USMLE Step #1 exam.

FASTER, MORE EFFICIENT FORMATS

Our MSMS program enables you to prepare for success in medical school in less than a year, thanks to our efficient “flipped classroom” model. Through this modern and proven approach, you will watch online lectures and complete assigned readings on your own, so that classroom time can be dedicated entirely to immersive discussions, interactive case studies, and collaborative group work—maximizing every minute and accelerating your learning.

In our 11-month and 20-month online formats, you’ll participate in your live online classes from anywhere you choose, via Zoom/livestream. In our 11-month blended format, you’ll come to campus to join the live virtual sessions as a group while also interacting with your classmates during small group discussions and other engaging activities.

*No matter which format you choose (11-month online, 20-month online, or 11-month blended), your transcripts will simply say “Southern California University of Health Sciences” without reference to whether your coursework was delivered online or in-person. That’s because SCU online students learn from the same faculty and receive the same course content as in-person students receive.

ABILITY TO ENTER WITHOUT A SCIENCE-SPECIFIC BACHELOR’S

While the majority of our MSMS students earned their bachelor’s degrees in biology, biochemistry, chemistry, physics, or other related fields, it’s not required! We happily consider applicants with degrees in other fields of study on a case-by-case basis. Our primary concern is that you have the passion and academic aptitude to succeed and make a meaningful impact as a medical professional.

BROADER INTERPROFESSIONAL EDUCATION

Most of today’s healthcare colleges offer an “interprofessional education” through which students learn with, from, and about other disciplines. But at SCU, our Interprofessional Education is broader and, frankly, we think that makes it better. Unlike other colleges, we teach you about both conventional and complementary disciplines—not just one or the other—because we believe in both and we teach both, all under one roof.

AN INTEGRATIVE, WHOLE HEALTH APPROACH

All too often, healthcare providers “stay in their lanes” rather than building comprehensive care plans that include other disciplines, professionals, and approaches. In addition, they look strictly at the physical body as opposed to all the factors that may be influencing a patient’s health and well-being—genetics, lifestyle, mental health, relationships, physical environments, community support, and beyond. But at SCU, no matter what program you are in, you’ll learn to blend the best of conventional and complementary approaches (integrative healthcare) and to treat the entire mind, body, and spirit (whole health)—for true lasting wellness.