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MEDacademy

Aspiring Physicians: Discover a Career in Medicine

Have you ever wondered about becoming a doctor? MEDacademy can provide a one-of-a-kind opportunity to explore the world of medicine. Cooper Medical School of Rowan University (CMSRU) is looking for highly motivated and talented high school students interested in becoming a physician. If you will be a rising high school junior or senior in the Summer 2025, MEDacademy may be the medical education program for you.

The four-week summer day program introduces high school students to medical school and helps to refine their particular interest in health care. Students are exposed to four featured medical specialties - Pathology, Cardiopulm, GI and Neurology - and participate in lectures, hands-on demonstrations, case-based learning activities, and interactive clinical simulations taught by our faculty, medical students and staff. Students experience firsthand what it is like to be a doctor, learning from featured guest speakers and guided tours of Cooper University Hospital (contingent on CUHC’s policy of allowing visitors, based on the COVID-19 global health pandemic). To conclude the full medical school experience, students present a final group research project during our closing ceremony.

Students who complete both levels of MEDacademy successfully will receive five undergraduate credits, which can be applied directly to the Biology major at Rowan University. Students who complete MEDacademy successfully will have three general elective credits at Rowan University and will have access to an official Rowan transcript to submit to other institutions for review.

Summer 2025 Dates

MEDacademy will occur at the CMSRU Medical Education Building (401 South Broadway, Camden, New Jersey, 08103) from Monday, June 30th - Friday, July 25th, 2025, 9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

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Application Process

Eligible Candidates

• High school students entering junior or senior year
• Excellent academic standing: GPA of 3.3 or above
• Successful completion of math and science courses
• Demonstrated interest in medicine

 

Frequently Asked Questions

MEDacademy is a 4-week summer day program that introduces high school students (rising 3rd and 4th years) to medical school and helps to refine their particular interest in health care. Each week, students will learn a specific topic, similar to the organization of an actual medical school curriculum. The topics covered include Pathology, Neurology, Cardio-Pulmonary and Gastroenterology. Lectures are taught by rising M2 students at CMSRU. Participants are also tasked with completing a health research topic and creating a poster for presentation upon completion of the program.


MEDacademy Masters is a 2-week advanced program for students who have already completed MEDacademy (in a prior summer – students cannot do MEDacademy and MEDacademy Master’s in the same summer). MEDacademy Master’s is focused on human anatomy and includes time in CMSRU’s gross anatomy lab.


Students do earn undergraduate credit for participating in the program – 3 credits for MEDacademy and 2 credits for MEDacademy Masters. At Rowan University, these 5 credits can be applied directly to the Biology major. Students who choose a different major can apply these credits toward an elective course. The application of these credits at other colleges/universities is discretionary, based on policies at those institutions.

  • Online Application (To be completed by applicant): MEDacademy Application (rowan.edu)
  • Two Recommendations to be submitted by high school guidance counselor, science teacher, high school teacher or employer/community leader who is in a position to provide insight into your academic, service or employment habits. The application will ask you to provide email addresses for these individuals and they will automatically be sent a link to complete a recommendation. Please let them know to expect this email from us.
  • Official high school transcripts, including Fall 2024 grades. Transcripts must be emailed from a school official (must be from their official school email address) or should be sent in a sealed envelope.
  • Application fee of $25 to be remitted online – link to pay is in the application and if you aren’t able to pay at that time, a unique link will be emailed to you.

Remember, we must receive all materials (above-noted) to consider your application. We prefer electronic receipt, but also accept materials through standard mail.

Mailing Address:

MEDacademy at CMSRU
401 S Broadway
Camden, NJ 08103
Our email address is: MEDacademy@rowan.edu

There is not an actual deadline; the preferred deadline is March 3rd, 2025. We will begin reviewing applications as soon as they are Complete (including recommendations, transcripts, and application fees) and admissions will be rolling, so long as seats remain available.
Yes, students who successfully complete MEDacademy will earn 3 undergraduate credits at Rowan University and students who successfully complete MEDacademy Masters will earn 2 undergraduate credits at Rowan University. Students who complete both and enroll as a Biology major at Rowan University can apply those credits directly to their major. Results/final grades from the MEDacademy program will be generated on our students’ transcripts, which can be submitted to other colleges/universities for those schools to determine whether the credits will transfer to their institution.
Your grade will be determined based on your performance on weekly assessments, your health research poster project (including assessments by your student partners) and your participation in the program.
Tuition for the four-week program is $3,000 and tuition for MEDacademy Masters is $2,000. CMSRU will expect payment of a nonrefundable deposit of $500 within two weeks of any offer of admission. The full tuition should be paid prior to the start of the program. If payment is not received, the student’s spot will be opened up to another candidate on the waiting list.
Typically, our program spends a fair amount of time at CUH, and familiarizes students with different departments and different health care occupations. The COVID-19 global health pandemic has resulted in limited visitors at CUH. In adherence with the policies at CUH, we will try to schedule as much time as possible at the hospital, but it’s not possible to guarantee that.
This deposit of $500 allows us to make accurate projections for our summer program and, unfortunately, is not refundable, unless the program is not offered or it materially changes (i.e. switches to a virtual platform).
CMSRU plans for about 50 students in Summer 2025.
You will be notified by email and we anticipate decisions to be made about 2 weeks after your application is officially complete. Always feel free to reach out to us with questions. Please remember: we will use the preferred email address you provide in the application, so be sure to check it regularly for messages from us.
We expect this information within 4 weeks of accepting our offer of admission, or prior to day one of the program, whichever is first.
The MEDacademy curriculum is designed to build on your foundation of knowledge learned in science and math courses and gradually introduce different fields of medicine by reinforcing concepts learned through lectures, hands on demonstrations, clinical simulations and visual tours. You will be responsible for any covered material, which may be included in our weekly assessments.
MEDacademy will give you the opportunity to explore the field of medicine and provide the knowledge and experience to explore the career opportunities available to medical students. Each week, students will rotate through one of our featured medical specialties beginning with a morning lecture, followed by case-based learning activities and a series of specialty topics. These informative, interactive and exciting activities are designed to engage and guide you as you take the first step on the path to becoming a doctor. You will present, along with your peers, a final poster project at the research symposium. You will be expected to demonstrate an interest in class discussion, work independently and prepare for assignments.
No – CMSRU does not provide any overnight lodging for the program.
MEDacademy takes place at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University (401 South Broadway, Camden, New Jersey, 08103). We will use other buildings that are part of the medical campus in Camden, NJ, as a result of space restrictions. We escort students to all other sites. Any changes will be clearly communicated to applicants/students.
We have very limited scholarships and the overwhelming majority of our students will not receive any funding to pay for this program. These scholarships will be based primarily on financial need with consideration for academic excellence (GPA) and Camden residents.

Learn More

Check out the official CMSRU MedAcademy Instagram page, @cmsrumedacademy!

Questions? Contact:

Michael Green
MedAcademy Program Contact
Cooper Medical School of Rowan University
medacademy@rowan.edu