W.A. Franke Honors College Honors Early Assurance Program (HEAP)

The University of Arizona College of Medicine-Tucson is looking for a cohort of applicants who are poised to be the next generation of physicians, physician-leaders, and physician-researchers for Arizona communities and throughout the United States. 

The University of Arizona Franke Honors College has built an innovative partnership, in collaboration with the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Tucson, to develop Arizona’s future physicians. This program responds to the ever-changing delivery of health care and clinical research while encouraging students to thrive in a rigorous academic environment with professional mentoring.  

The goal of the program is to introduce a small cohort of HEAP students to the College of Medicine-Tucson's integrated sciences and systems curriculum, interactive medical problem solving, team learning, and professional learning communities. The cohort will follow an academic plan to complete all medical school prerequisite coursework as well as individual learning modules to provide an early start to the content found in the medical school curriculum. 

Once admitted to the program, students will participate in the SUMMIT-MED (Summer Mentorship and Immersion Training) between the summer of their junior and senior year. This summer program will provide students with an immersive-mentored experience with College of Medicine-Tucson faculty and medical students. Students will be matched with a research mentor from a list of available College of Medicine-Tucson Scholars’ faculty mentors and develop a clinical, basic or translational research project. Scholars will have many opportunities to interact with medical, graduate, and other health professional students, and faculty to begin their socialization into the medical profession. Students are also required to participate in a Capstone Research forum with an oral presentation and poster session at the end of the program. Scholars will also attend a weekly 1-hour seminar series on topics such as Professionalism in Medicine, Careers in Medicine, Wellness, and Medical Ethics. The research project could form the basis for completing the Honors College thesis requirement. 

Eligibility To Apply

HEAP is open to all undergraduate Juniors from any major. Once accepted to the program, students will matriculate into the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Tucson, provided students adhere to all program requirements prior to entry. This includes satisfying all Franke Honors College and bachelor’s degree requirements. 

Applications will be considered through a holistic review process.
To be eligible, applicants must: 

• Are a UArizona W.A. Franke Honors College Student with a minimum 3.6 cumulative GPA. 
• Receive a minimum score of 506 on the MCAT

The College of Medicine-Tucson looks for the below attributes in applicants. This is not an exact list and meeting these attributes will not guarantee admission in any capacity:

• Are clearly motivated to pursue a career in medicine.
• Have previous healthcare and clinical exposure.
• Hold a high level of resilience, integrity and emotional maturity.
• Are strongly service and community oriented.
• Maintain a high cultural competency.
• Have previous research experience.
• Possess strong leadership and interpersonal skills.
• Speak a language (other than English) common among those who are medically underserved in Arizona.

Applicants who are invited for an interview will participate in College of Medicine-Tucson and Franke Honors College virtual interviews. Opportunities to tour the campus and meet with current medical students and administrators will also be available. 

The University of Arizona College of Medicine-Tucson reviews applicants with a holistic approach when selecting incoming students. The holistic review guarantees a fair and equitable consideration of your entire application, including your experiences, attributes, and metrics. This means that one portion of an application does not carry weight over another portion. College of Medicine-Tucson looks at applicants beyond metrics to ensure that each student is a good fit for the mission and values of the College of Medicine-Tucson and has a passion for medicine.

At the time of application submission, applicants are not required to have an MCAT score however, each applicant must have an MCAT exam date scheduled to receive their score prior to committee consideration; last allowable MCAT date will be shared once the 2025 exam schedule is available. MCAT exam dates fill quickly so it is recommended that students schedule their exams early to ensure they can get a date to complete the exam. Exam scores are typically released one month after the testing date. A score of 506 is required to be eligible to be offered a seat in the program. If invited to interview but a score of 506 is not reached, applicants will no longer be considered in the application cycle.

Application Process and Deadlines

A separate Franke Honors HEAP Application will be available for students to apply in the fall of their junior year via Scholarship Universe. This application will be in addition to the regular AMCAS application that will be completed if you are accepted into the program. 

Accepted HEAP students will be eligible for scholarships if available. 

Matriculation Requirements

• Completion of the following courses and UArizona COM-Tucson prerequisite requirements.
• An in-depth clinical experience.
• This is a conditional acceptance based on achieving and maintaining the academic standards and metric thresholds. Students who are unable to maintain a total GPA 3.6 and do not complete Franke Honors Graduation requirements will not be able to continue in HEAP. These students would be eligible for the regular UArizona COM-Tucson Admissions pool via AMCAS.
• Once all Honors requirements, including the Honors thesis, and a final 360 interview are completed, acceptance will be offered. No deferrals or gap year will be allowed for HEAP participants. 
• For questions about the College of Medicine-Tucson Matriculation Requirements, MD processes, MCAT process, visits, or HEAP, contact Larissa Gronenberg, Director of Admissions at College of Medicine-Tucson: 
  larissag@peds.arizona.edu

SUMMIT-MED (Summer Mentorship and Immersion Training)

Students accepted into HEAP will complete a summer program between their junior and senior year which will provide an immersive, mentored experience with the University of Arizona’s College of Medicine-Tucson faculty and medical students. The length of the summer program will be determined in the spring semester, but the program typically runs from mid-July to mid-August. For questions about the summer program contact, Dr. Zoe Cohen, Director, HEAP. 

The goals of the program are to:

• Train and inspire students in research-based approaches to problem-solving.
• Foster interactions with UA COM faculty, researchers and clinicians.
• Immerse Franke HEAP Scholars in UArizona COM culture. 

Students will be matched with a research mentor from a list of available UArizona COM Scholars faculty mentors and work with the mentor to develop a research project. The research project could form the basis for completing the Franke Honors College thesis requirement. Scholars will have many opportunities to interact with medical, graduate, and other health professional students and faculty in various summer research programs and settings at UArizona COM. Students are required to participate in a Capstone Research forum with an oral presentation and poster session at the end of the program. Scholars will also attend a weekly 1-hour seminar series on topics such as Professionalism in Medicine, Clinical shadowing, Careers in Medicine and Wellness. Other activities will include ASTEC lab, Willed Body Program, Patient interviewing and physical exam skills lab, and Commitment to Underserved People (CUP) Clinic.

Apply through Scholarship Universe.
 

Frequently Asked Questions