School of Medicine

HISTORY OF ELECTIVES AT TULANE

Elective courses first assumed a significant role in the education of all Tulane medical students in September of 1967 when the medical school initiated a major curriculum revision. Before that time, several electives were offered during hours when no courses in the regular medical curriculum were scheduled. Graduate courses could be taken by medical students only if their schedules permitted them to do so. The effective use of these opportunities by some students who earned dual degrees while attending medical school was one stimulus that led to the formation of a new curriculum that broadened these elective opportunities and made them available to all medical students.

Electives provide an opportunity for medical students to pursue graduate studies. This opportunity was of considerable importance in the curriculum of the late 1960s and continues to be one of the curriculum's major emphases. Electives may be used to facilitate students' work on combined degrees like the M.S.-M.D., M.D.-Ph.D. and M.D.-M.P.H.

These elective opportunities are described below and may include departmental research projects that are done under faculty supervision:

Please review the Policies & Procedures for additional important information regarding Electives in the First Year.

Tulane medical students are required to take ONE elective in their first two years. This requirement can also be fulfilled by coursework in the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. The elective may be taken in either the first or second year. Electives offerings are structured around the following session schedule for the 2009-2010 Academic Year:

File Downloads:

• Registration Form - (52kb .pdf file)
• Prospectus for research as an elective - (48kb .pdf file)
• Summary for research as an elective - (52kb .pdf file)