How to Get Into UC Davis School of Medicine: The Definitive Guide (2026-2027)

UC Davis School of Medicine is a public MD program in Sacramento, California, and part of the University of California system, which also includes UC Riverside, UC Irvine and UC San Diego. The school welcomed its inaugural class in 1968. The California Legislature created it to ease physician shortages in Northern California, especially outside the big cities, and that purpose still shapes who it admits and how it trains them. Classrooms sit across the street from UC Davis Medical Center, the only Level 1 trauma center in Inland California.

This guide covers the 2026-2027 application cycle for students who will start medical school in summer 2027 (the Class of 2031). The AMCAS deadline for this cycle was October 1, 2026, and Multiple Mini Interviews run from late August 2026 into early April 2027. All facts were checked on October 18, 2026.

In this definitive guide to getting into UC Davis School of Medicine, we cover everything you need to know: the class profile, the traditional MD program, the Community Health Scholars and three-year accelerated pathways, dual degrees, the I-EXPLORE curriculum, cost of attendance, prerequisites and the PREview exam, every current secondary question with an example, and the MMI. Knowledge is power, so use what you learn here to make your application as strong as possible.

Should you have questions about the medical school application process, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. International Medical Aid has helped thousands of students get into medical school through our medical school admissions consulting and healthcare internship programs. We’re here for you!

Key Takeaways

• Eligibility. You need a bachelor’s degree, verified by AMCAS by July 1 of the year you start, plus one year each of biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry (or biochemistry or another chemistry) and physics. Online courses count and labs are not required. U.S. citizens, permanent residents and DACA recipients can apply. International applicants must show they can pay for the full program.
• California comes first. The school was created to train physicians for California, and its mission centers on the state’s rural, valley, tribal and urban underserved communities. Every secondary applicant is asked about connections to Northern or Central California, and ties to California are preferred for out-of-state and international applicants. Of the 419 applicants interviewed for the 2025 entering class, 406 were California residents. In the Class of 2029, 60.4% of students came from University of California campuses and 14.4% from Cal State campuses.
• Academic context. The Class of 2029 (entered 2025) averaged a 511 MCAT (78.5 percentile), a 3.71 overall GPA, a 3.81 undergraduate GPA and a 3.63 science GPA. Accepted applicants for the 2025 entering class had a median MCAT of 512 and a median GPA of 3.82. These are averages and medians, not minimums.
• Experience matters. The same class averaged 2,843 hours of medical employment, 514 hours of medical volunteering, 1,304 research hours and 589 hours of non-medical volunteering. Seventy-seven percent came from economically disadvantaged backgrounds and 47% were the first in their families to graduate from college.
• Key dates. AMCAS opens May 1 and closes October 1. MCAT and PREview scores must arrive by September 30. Secondary invitations go out July through December 31, and each secondary is due 30 days after its invitation. Acceptances run October 15 through July 15.
• Costs. Tuition and fees are $49,969 for 2026-2027. Nonresidents pay $12,245 more in supplemental tuition. The first-year resident cost of attendance is $92,425.
• Distinctive training. Five Community Health Scholars tracks, four three-year accelerated pathways, eight student-run clinics plus partner clinics, and a required family medicine clerkship. Half of the Class of 2026 matched into primary care, and 91% stayed in California.
• Next step. If you applied this cycle, finish your secondary within two weeks and prepare for a virtual MMI. If you are planning for 2027-2028, take the PREview by September, build sustained clinical work in underserved settings and document your ties to Northern or Central California.

Key Statistics About UC Davis School of Medicine

The snapshot and table below gather UC Davis School of Medicine’s key numbers. Each figure carries its cohort or academic year, because the school publishes its class profile, cost budget and outcomes on different schedules. The newest class profile is for the Class of 2029, which started in 2025. The snapshot uses medians for accepted applicants in that same 2025 entering class.

A few notes on reading these numbers. The class profile figures are averages for students who enrolled, and the medians cover everyone who received an acceptance in the same cycle, including people who enrolled elsewhere. Neither is a cutoff. UC Davis has no minimum GPA or MCAT screen. The cost figures are the school’s estimated budget, which includes tuition, fees, books, housing, food, transportation and health insurance, and the school warns that tuition and fees may change by action of the UC Regents.

Mission and Educational Priorities

UC Davis School of Medicine states its mission in one line:

“Transforming lives by improving health through the combined power of education, research, clinical care, and community.”

The school’s vision adds that it is “dedicated to improving the health of society” and will work “within an environment of inclusion, kindness and transparency to improve the health of everyone.” The strategic plan turns that into five goals: education, discovery science, clinical and translational science, clinical care integration and community.

What does that mean for you as an applicant? Three things stand out.

The school was built to train California’s physicians. Vice Dean for Medical Education Mark Servis has described the founding mandate plainly: “to train the physicians California needs.” Six decades ago the state located the school in Sacramento to serve a 33-county area that other public medical schools could not reach. Today its secondary asks every applicant about connections to Northern or Central California, and in 2026, 91% of graduates matched into California residencies. A believable plan to practice in the state, backed by your history, carries weight here.

Primary care is a core strength, not an afterthought. U.S. News & World Report places UC Davis in its top tier for primary care training and ranks it No. 16 for graduates practicing in primary care. Exactly half of the Class of 2026 matched into primary care fields. The school requires a family medicine clerkship, which many schools do not. If you are drawn to family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics or psychiatry for underserved patients, UC Davis has more structured routes into that work than almost any school in the country.

Service to under-resourced communities is built in. The school’s highlights include hands-on care at community clinics, a curriculum that covers communication, ethics, cultural competency and “the human side of illness,” and a multitrack Community Health Scholars Program for California’s rural, urban and agricultural communities. The Associate Dean of Admissions describes the school as “distinguished by a longstanding commitment to improving the health of our community.”

None of this means you must commit to primary care to be admitted. The school trains specialists and researchers too, and it ranks in the second tier nationally for research. But your application should show that you understand this mission and that your experiences already point toward it. Sustained service in underserved settings, real patient contact and ties to the region are more persuasive than a list of activities chosen to look well-rounded.

Accreditation and Institutional Identity

UC Davis School of Medicine is accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), the accrediting body for MD programs in the United States and Canada. In a letter dated June 30, 2022, the LCME continued the school’s full accreditation for the maximum eight-year term. The school sent a follow-up report on a small number of monitored elements in 2023 and was due to send a second status report in August 2025. Its next full LCME survey is scheduled for the 2029-2030 academic year.

The school is part of UC Davis Health, the academic health system that also includes UC Davis Medical Center, UC Davis Children’s Hospital, the UC Davis Rehabilitation Hospital and the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing. The medical school campus is in Sacramento, separate from the main UC Davis campus in Davis. Students take classes in the Education Building at 4610 X Street, across from the medical center.

Two distinctions are worth knowing. First, UC Davis is a public UC school, so California residents pay much less than nonresidents, and the school’s admissions priorities follow its state mission. Second, the school’s programs prepare students for licensure in California. The school states that it has not determined whether its programs meet licensure requirements in other states. Graduates do match into residencies across the country, so this is a disclosure, not a barrier, but it reflects the school’s California focus.

Medical Programs and Affiliations

UC Davis School of Medicine offers the following medical programs for prospective students:

• Doctor of Medicine (MD), the traditional four-year program
• Community Health Scholars (five four-year tracks): PRIME Central Coast, REACH, Rural PRIME, TEACH-MS and Tribal Health PRIME
• Three-year accelerated pathways: ACE-PC, Rural ACE-PC, ACE-Psych and Rural ACE-Psych
• Physician-scientist pathways: MD/PhD and ARC-MD
• Dual degree: MD/MPH (and MD/MBA through a separate MBA application)
• Research options for all students, including the Medical Student Research Fellowship and the TL1 Pre-Doctoral Clinical Research Training Program

UC Davis Health also runs other degree and training programs that are separate from the MD, including the Master of Science in Health Informatics, the Master of Public Health, the Clinical Laboratory Scientist Training Program, the Stem Cell Training Program and the Mentored Clinical Research Training Program. You do not apply to these through AMCAS.

Nearly a third of UC Davis medical students join a pathway that trains them to care for a specific population. Every pathway applicant applies through the traditional MD admissions process first. Let’s look at each option.

Doctor of Medicine

UC Davis School of Medicine provides students with an educational experience built on collaboration, patient-centered care and community service. The MD program uses the I-EXPLORE curriculum, described in detail in the curriculum section below. It is competency-based and integrates biomedical science, clinical science and health systems science across four years. Students start seeing patients in an outpatient clinic in the first year, train in six core clerkships in the third year and build an individualized final year with acting internships and electives.

The program is “nationally ranked in primary care, family medicine, psychiatry, and research,” and it prepares graduates for residency in any specialty. A comprehensive list of UC Davis residency and fellowship options is available on the UC Davis Health graduate medical education site, where about 900 residents and fellows train.

Community Health Scholars / PRIME

The Community Health Scholars (CHS) program sits under the umbrella of the traditional MD program. Each track lets you earn your MD with a focus on a community in need. These tracks do not grant a second degree. You will graduate with an MD, not an MS. Dual-degree options are listed further below.

The CHS mission is “To nurture, educate and empower future physician leaders to transform the health of California’s rural and underserved communities.” Three of the five tracks are designated University of California Programs in Medical Education (PRIME) pathways. All five share a common curriculum built on five pillars (community engagement, leadership, professional development, mentorship and scholarship) and add more than 200 hours of training beyond the standard MD. More than half of CHS students are first-generation college graduates, and 296 CHS physicians entered the workforce between 2011 and 2024.

Each year the CHS program accepts:

How to apply to one or more CHS tracks:

1. Apply to UC Davis School of Medicine through AMCAS by October 1. You must meet the same requirements as every MD applicant.
2. If you are invited to complete the secondary, indicate your interest in one or more CHS tracks there. You may apply to more than one.
3. After your standard MMI, the CHS directors review interviewed applicants on a rolling basis.
4. Qualified applicants are invited to a program-specific interview between January and April with program directors, CHS faculty and current CHS students.

CHS students take part in a required in-person orientation about three weeks before the regular School of Medicine orientation, typically in late June or early July. CHS students are also eligible for additional scholarship funding each year.

Rural Program in Medical Education (Rural PRIME)

Rural PRIME was designed to increase the number of physician leaders who practice in rural California. Nearly 20% of Californians live in rural areas, but only about 9% of physicians practice there. The program was developed to address that gap in access and to reduce health disparities in rural populations.

Rural PRIME students receive extra teaching on rural public health, pesticide exposure, addiction medicine, rural law and other rural health challenges. They visit rural organizations during the first two years, complete a summer rural elective between years one and two and spend at least 20 weeks of the clerkship year at rural sites. Clerkship sites include Modoc Medical Center in Alturas, Plumas District Hospital in Quincy, Shasta Community Health Center in Redding, Chapa-De Indian Health in Grass Valley and Sutter Amador Hospital in Jackson, among others in California and Oregon. UC Davis is also known for its telemedicine program, and Rural PRIME students train on telemedicine and simulation equipment.

You do not have to be from a rural community, and you do not need a specific specialty in mind. You do need “a significant knowledge of and/or experience in rural settings, including a familiarity with underserved populations” and a commitment to practice in a rural California community after residency. Students keep their primary residence in Sacramento, and the school provides housing for rural clerkships. All UC Davis students receive a mileage stipend for clinical sites more than 25 miles away.

Reimagining Education to Advance Central California Health (REACH)

REACH is for applicants who plan to practice in California’s Central Valley, one of the state’s most medically underserved regions. It launched in 2018 and builds on the San Joaquin Valley PRIME program UC Davis started in 2011, which moved to UCSF Fresno in 2018.

REACH students study regional health disparities, water politics, pesticide exposure and other Central Valley issues. They complete a four-week summer clinical rotation between years one and two at sites such as Kaiser Permanente Central Valley in Modesto and Kaweah Health in Visalia, and they spend at least 24 weeks of the clerkship year at Central Valley sites. The school provides housing for those clerkships.

REACH looks for applicants who show a “Commitment to practice in California’s Central Valley after graduation and residency” and “Strong ties to California’s Central Valley communities, such as having grown up there, currently residing there, or having considerable prior experience.” You do not have to be from Central California, and any specialty is welcome. REACH does not assign residencies. It prepares you to compete for them while building lasting ties to the region.

Transforming Education and Community Health for Medical Students (TEACH-MS)

TEACH-MS, started in 2011, is a four-year MD track for students with a strong interest in primary care (family medicine, internal medicine or pediatrics) for urban underserved communities. Many people in urban areas are underserved because of their income or insurance, and lack of ability to pay should not prevent anyone from receiving the care they need.

The curriculum adds teaching on addiction medicine, harm reduction, advocacy and structural racism. Students visit Sacramento organizations that serve underserved communities, take part in the four-week Summer Institute on Race and Health and receive preferential assignment to clerkship sites that serve low-income communities in Sacramento and surrounding areas. The school provides housing for the OB-GYN clerkship in French Camp. You will be mentored by physicians doing community-based care. TEACH-MS graduates are not required to choose a particular specialty, but the track is designed for future primary care physicians.

Tribal Health PRIME

Launched in 2022, Tribal Health PRIME prepares physicians to provide culturally responsive care in tribal, rural and urban communities, with a focus on American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) health. Students learn about the impact of colonization on health, tribal and urban health care systems, diversity among tribes and cultures, barriers to care and the political relationships between tribes and federal and state governments. They receive preferential assignment to clerkship sites that serve tribal and American Indian communities in Northern California.

Applicants must show “Significant experience with American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities and commitment to serve tribes and communities after graduation and residency.” Tribal Health PRIME also partners with the Huwighurruk Tribal Health Postbaccalaureate Program at Cal Poly Humboldt and the Wy’East post-baccalaureate program.

PRIME Central Coast

PRIME Central Coast is the newest CHS track, created through a partnership between UC Davis School of Medicine and UC Santa Cruz. It launched in 2025 and will enroll its first cohort of six students in July 2027, which means this 2026-2027 cycle selects the founding class. The program focuses on health equity across the Central Coast, with attention to farmworker and immigrant populations. Students complete their entire clerkship year on the Central Coast and receive a travel stipend and housing support for required trips.

Applicants should show a commitment to practice on the Central Coast, “Strong ties to California’s Central Coast communities” and “A strong desire to practice in primary care, preventive medicine and community health.” You do not need to be from the Central Coast or a UC Santa Cruz student. Many applicants apply to both PRIME Central Coast and Rural PRIME, since many Central Coast communities are also rural.

Three-Year Accelerated Pathways (ACE)

UC Davis offers the only three-year MD pathway on the West Coast. The Accelerated Competency-based Education (ACE) programs train future primary care physicians and psychiatrists and let them enter residency one year earlier than traditional students.

Accelerated Competency-Based Education in Primary Care (ACE-PC)

The ACE-PC program is reserved for applicants who are committed to primary care, meaning family medicine or general internal medicine. Both are desperately needed in California. ACE-PC began in 2014 as a partnership with Kaiser Permanente Northern California, with support from the American Medical Association’s Accelerating Change in Medical Education initiative. Rather than the traditional seven-year path to primary care practice (four years of medical school plus three years of residency), ACE-PC students finish the MD in three years and match into a primary care residency a year earlier.

The program admits six to eight students a year from an entering class of about 130 to 140, and it typically receives 300 to 400 interested applicants. Historically, over 60% of ACE students are from communities underrepresented in medicine and 80% self-identify as disadvantaged.

The ACE-PC curriculum looks like this:

• Year 1: a Summer Immersion Course from June to mid-July, six weeks before the traditional orientation; a longitudinal primary care clinic and ACE class alongside traditional first-year coursework; and an intensive clinic immersion in late May.
• Year 2: continued intensive clinic immersion in early summer, the longitudinal clinic and traditional second-year coursework, then Step 1 preparation in March.
• Year 3: a Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship (LIC), with inpatient blocks in April and May and outpatient blocks from June to December; Step 2 preparation in January; and post-clerkship acting internships from February to May.
• Years 4 to 6: residency in internal medicine or family medicine.

ACE-PC students begin clinical training in Kaiser Permanente and UC Davis-affiliated clinics in their first week. Tuition matches the four-year program (the first year can be slightly higher because of the earlier start), and accelerated students receive a scholarship to help offset costs. Students who change their mind about primary care can decelerate to the four-year program, and not being selected for ACE-PC does not affect admission to the four-year MD.

Rural ACE-PC

Rural ACE-PC launched in 2025 with the County Medical Services Program (CMSP) to address physician shortages in Shasta, Nevada and Humboldt counties, and it recruited its first cohort in 2026. Students follow the three-year accelerated curriculum but train in rural Northern California, including a six-month placement in a target county during the LIC. Example training sites include Shasta Community Health Center, Hill Country Community Clinic, Western Sierra Medical Clinic, Chapa-De Indian Health Center, Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital and the Mercy Redding Family Medicine Residency. Applicants need strong ties to rural Northern California, especially Humboldt, Nevada or Shasta counties.

ACE-Psych and Rural ACE-Psych

The newest accelerated options train psychiatrists. ACE-Psych was established in 2026, and its first cohort will matriculate in 2027. It will accept two students in its first year, with a goal of four to eight per class later. Rural ACE-Psych will also recruit its first two students in this cycle, with a goal of two to four later, and places students in rural behavioral health sites in Shasta, Nevada and Humboldt counties. Both pathways include psychiatry-focused mentorship and early, longitudinal training in psychiatry and primary care. The school encourages interested candidates to apply in the 2026-2027 cycle.

How to apply to an accelerated pathway: apply to the MD program through AMCAS by October 1, indicate your interest in the secondary, complete the standard MMI and, once you are accepted to the traditional MD program, interview with the program team between January and April. The admissions criteria are:

Physician-Scientist Pathways

Doctor of Medicine / Doctor of Philosophy

The UC Davis MD/PhD Program combines medical and graduate education and leads to both degrees. Students receive full support during their four years of medical school: tuition and fees, health insurance and an annual stipend ($38,000 in 2025-2026). Support for the PhD years, typically about four, comes from mentor funding, grants, scholarships and teaching assistantships as needed.

You apply through AMCAS as an MD/PhD applicant by October 1, complete the AMCAS MD/PhD essays and include at least one letter from a research mentor. MD/PhD applicants do not take the PREview. If invited, you complete the UC Davis secondary; top applicants then have a virtual program interview with program leadership, students and faculty, followed by the School of Medicine MMI. Students are admitted to the program first and apply to a UC Davis graduate program during their first two years of medical school. To date, every MD/PhD student has been admitted to the graduate program of their choice. PhD training can be in any UC Davis graduate group, and the program is actively recruiting students interested in the social sciences and humanities.

The program is approved to matriculate five students a year. Over the past five years, its students averaged a 3.76 GPA and a 516 MCAT. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents (DACA applicants may be considered case by case), and MD/PhD applicants are not considered separately for the MD-only program. The full program usually takes about eight years.

Academic Research Careers for Medical Doctors (ARC-MD)

ARC-MD is a five-year honors pathway for MD students who want careers as physician-scientists and academic research faculty. It offers mentorship from physician-researchers, research and community service opportunities, professional development, scholarship support and a stipend for a research-intensive year in a UC Davis faculty laboratory between the third and fourth years. ARC-MD accepts six to eight students a year. You indicate interest on the secondary, and qualified applicants who have completed the standard MMI are invited to an ARC-MD interview between November and April. Admission to ARC-MD depends on acceptance to the MD program.

Dual-Degree Options

Doctor of Medicine / Master of Public Health

The MD/MPH is a joint five-year program for students who care about disease prevention and community health as well as individual patients. The UC Davis MPH includes instruction in epidemiology, biostatistics, environmental and occupational health, health services and administration, and social and behavioral science. You apply to the MPH program separately, and you must be accepted to the medical school to be considered. The CHS tracks note that students who choose to add a master’s degree may be eligible for additional financial support.

Doctor of Medicine / Master of Business Administration

The MD/MBA is offered with the UC Davis Graduate School of Management. As with the MPH, you apply to the MBA program separately from your medical school application, and you must be accepted to the medical school first. The School of Medicine does not publish a separate MD/MBA curriculum on its current pages, so ask the Office of Medical Education and the Graduate School of Management about timing before you plan around it.

Curriculum Overview

UC Davis uses the I-EXPLORE curriculum, short for Integrated EXplorative Patient and Learner Oriented Education. It was designed by a team of faculty, residents, students and staff led by Kristin Olson, now Associate Dean for Curriculum and Medical Education, and it was fully in place by 2023. The school describes the curriculum’s educational mission as training “competent and compassionate physicians who will address the health care needs of individuals, families, and communities through collaborative approaches to patient-centered care.”

Key features

• Competency-based. You are assessed on knowledge, skills, abilities and attitudes through formative and summative methods across all four years, with a growth mindset built in.
• Integrated. Three pillars, biomedical science, clinical science and health systems science, run through every course, and each course has three co-directors, one from each pillar.
• Explorative. You can go deeper in an interest through intersession workshops, areas of scholarly concentration or a pathway that spans all of medical school.
• Patient oriented. Patient panels, case-based learning and early outpatient work start in year one. Patient-centered threads cover diagnostic medicine (including point-of-care ultrasound), stages of life, care for vulnerable populations, preventive medicine, pain medicine and behavioral sciences.
• Learner oriented. A consistent weekly schedule includes protected self-directed study time, Step 1-relevant content and an emphasis on clinical reasoning. Lectures are mostly asynchronous, so you control the pace.

How you learn

The weekly schedule uses active learning:

• Team INQUIRE (problem-based learning): small groups identify learning objectives for a patient case and research them on their own, with a faculty process facilitator.
• Team-based learning: small groups work through complex, integrated cases. Some sessions focus on the “UCD 43,” a set of 43 common chief concerns you will see at least once during the pre-clerkship and clerkship phases.
• Peer instruction: quiz sessions with NBME-style questions to prepare for exams.
• Patient panels and journal clubs: patients and caregivers share their experiences, and small groups critique original research.
• Clinical skills: small groups with your academic coach.
• Longitudinal Clinical Experience (LCE): a continuity experience in an ambulatory clinic about every other week during the pre-clerkship phase, with frequent feedback from a preceptor.

Pre-clerkship phase (Years 1 and 2)

Required courses are Transition to Medical School; Human Architecture and Function; Molecular and Cellular Medicine; Pathogens and Host Defense; Cardiovascular, Pulmonary and Renal Systems; Endocrinology, Gastroenterology and Reproduction; Skin and Musculoskeletal Systems; Brain and Behavior; and I-FOSTER. The LCE, clinical skills, Team INQUIRE and UCD 43 sessions are built into these courses. The phase ends with USMLE Step 1.

The I-FOSTER intersession promotes a team mindset, professional identity formation and adaptive learning skills. Students complete “learning passport” activities in interprofessional experience, procedural workshops, personal development, career exploration, lifelong learning and leadership.

Clerkship phase (Year 3)

You’ll complete six core clerkships: Family and Community Medicine, Internal Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatrics, Psychiatry and Surgery. During these clerkships, you’ll go through inpatient and ambulatory rotations that provide supervised patient care. A one-week intersession between each clerkship block includes case-based learning, objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs), academic coaching on professional identity and time for self-directed learning and wellness. A six-week selective block lets you choose 2-, 4- or 6-week courses in clinical selectives, research or an area of scholarly concentration, advanced clinical clerkships or clinical didactics.

Post-clerkship phase (Year 4)

The fourth year starts early, in May. Requirements are:

• Emergency Medicine Acting Internship (4 weeks at UC Davis Health)
• Neurology Advanced Clinical Clerkship or Acting Internship (4 weeks)
• Intensive Care Unit Acting Internship (4 weeks)
• An additional Acting Internship (4 weeks, inpatient or outpatient, at UC Davis Health or away)
• Transition to Residency (2 weeks)
• Electives to complete 44 total weeks, chosen from more than 180 courses
• Passing the Clinical Performance Examination (CPX) and USMLE Step 2 Clinical Knowledge

Your schedule is designed with career and specialty advisors. The early start lets you take electives for early specialty exposure or finish clerkships deferred from the third year.

How the tracks differ

CHS students follow the same MD curriculum and add CHS class sessions one or two times a month, immersion days with community partners, a four-year longitudinal scholarly project grounded in community engagement, a four-week summer elective between years one and two (such as the Summer Institute on Race and Health, the Summer REACH program or a COMET Collaborative elective) and core clerkships in their region. In the fourth year, they can teach first- and second-year CHS students and take a recommended two-week underserved care rotation.

ACE students compress the same pre-clerkship content and six core clerkships into three years. They start six weeks early, train in the summer after year one and complete a Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship in year three instead of block rotations. MD/PhD students complete the pre-clerkship years, leave for PhD research and then return for clinical training. ARC-MD students add a research year between years three and four.

Admissions Requirements and Application Process

Degree and prerequisite courses

To be eligible, you must complete a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university, verified by AMCAS by July 1 of the year you matriculate. No major is preferred. The school encourages you to choose a field out of personal interest and intellectual curiosity.

The following prerequisite courses are required and must be completed at a U.S. accredited college or university, including community colleges:

• Biological Sciences: 1 year
• General Chemistry: 1 year
• Organic Chemistry (biochemistry or other chemistry also acceptable): 1 year
• Physics: 1 year

“1 year” equals 8 units total in each category (one year is three quarters or two semesters). Online coursework is accepted and labs are not required, although in-person courses with labs are preferred. Prerequisites should ideally be completed within five years of applying and must be finished by the spring before you enroll. AP credit counts if it appears on your official undergraduate transcript with a clear course equivalency. CLEP credit does not count. Coursework from institutions that are not accredited is not accepted; you can check accreditation through the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.

MCAT

The MCAT is required. Your score must be from within 36 months of applying, and the latest exam UC Davis accepts is in September of the application year. The last date to submit MCAT scores is September 30, so for the 2026-2027 cycle the oldest score considered is from October 2023. There is no minimum MCAT for screening. If you have tested more than once, the committee looks at your highest total score, sees every attempt and reads your scores together with the rest of your academic record.

AAMC PREview

All MD applicants must take the AAMC PREview Professional Readiness Exam. The school uses it “to assess core pre-professional competencies that we believe are essential for success at our medical school.” Registration opens January 31, the test window is April through September and the exam is online with remote proctoring. It costs $105, or nothing if you qualify for the AAMC Fee Assistance Program.

Key rules:

• Deadline: UC Davis’s PREview deadline is September 30, even though the exam is offered into October. The school also says there is no disadvantage for scores received through October and that “Applications submitted without an AAMC PREview score will be considered incomplete.”
• Who is exempt: MD/PhD applicants and Huwighurruk scholars.
• CASPer: not accepted as a substitute.
• Earlier scores: if you took the AAMC Situational Judgment Test in 2020 or later and are happy with your score, you do not need to retake the PREview.
• No second chances: if your application was rejected before you took the PREview, taking it later will not reopen your application.

Residency, citizenship and DACA

You are an international applicant if you need a visa to live and study in the U.S. Citizens, permanent residents, refugees and asylees are domestic applicants even if they live abroad. International applicants must complete the School of Medicine Financial Statement and document funding for the entire program, because non-U.S. residents are not eligible for U.S. financial aid. Since August 24, 2026, federal sanctions have also prevented the University of California from processing applications from people located in or ordinarily living in Iran.

Immigration status is not considered in admissions. DACA recipients are encouraged to apply, and the Office of Medical Pathways supports undocumented and DACA students. Students who meet AB 540 criteria can file the California Dream Act Application for state and institutional aid.

California ties matter. Nonresidents can apply and pay supplemental tuition if they enroll, but the school’s mission is to train physicians for California, and its secondary asks about your connection to Northern or Central California. Ties to California are preferred for out-of-state, Canadian and international applicants, and strong ties are recommended. For the 2025 entering class, 406 of the 419 applicants interviewed were California residents, 13 were from out of state and none were international.

What the committee looks for

The Admissions Committee uses holistic review based on six competencies: patient care, medical knowledge, communication and interpersonal skills, professionalism, systems-based practice and lifelong learning. It looks at experiences, attributes and metrics “in no particular order of importance.”

• Experiences: clinical or health care experience, research, leadership, community service, educational background, experience on interprofessional teams and life experiences, such as obstacles overcome.
• Attributes: geographic origin (for example, a rural or medically underserved area), resilience, motivation for medicine, intellectual curiosity, communication skills including listening and empathy, additional languages, critical thinking, professional responsibility, values and ethics, self-assessment, altruism and compassion, appreciation for diverse perspectives, teamwork and honesty.
• Metrics: undergraduate grades, grade trends and course load, the MCAT and performance in any post-baccalaureate or graduate program.

Healthcare, leadership and research experience are major factors in who is admitted. The school also lists elements that may not be considered at any point, including race, ethnicity, citizenship, religion, gender, age, family matters, disability and sexual orientation. Decisions are made “without consideration of political factors, financial factors, or any element that violate California Prop 209 and the US Constitution.” Every application is reviewed by at least one faculty member of the Admissions Committee before a final decision.

If you are building experience now, aim for depth. The Class of 2029 averaged 2,843 hours of medical employment, far more than most applicants log. Paid clinical roles, long-term volunteering and clinical internships for pre-med students that give you supervised patient contact all count toward that kind of record.

Letters of recommendation

UC Davis accepts three to six letters, and at least one from a physician or clinician is recommended. MD/PhD applicants must include at least one letter from a research mentor. Letters are submitted as part of the secondary application.

The four steps

The admissions timeline runs from May through July of the following year and has four main steps.

1. Primary application and PREview. Submit through the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS). The application opens May 1 and the earliest submission date is May 26. Your application includes your Work and Activities and your personal statement. All materials must be received by October 1 at 11:59 p.m. EST (8:59 p.m. PST), and the school does not grant extensions.
2. Secondary application (by invitation only). Selected applicants complete essays and activities, choose any programs of interest, submit letters and pay a $120 nonrefundable fee.
3. Interviews (by invitation only). Virtual MMIs, typically on Mondays and Fridays, from late August through the first week of April.
4. Decision. Decisions are released on a rolling basis within 30 to 45 days after the interview.

UC Davis operates on rolling admissions, so you’ll want to submit your AMCAS as early as you can. The school does not accept application updates after you submit, such as new activities or extra letters. Major changes, such as a change in citizenship status or a nationally recognized award, may be considered case by case. All decisions are final, and the school does not give feedback on applications.

Timeline for the 2026-2027 cycle

Decisions and the waitlist

Acceptances are made on a rolling basis from October 15 through July 15. Waitlisted applicants are told their status, and final waitlist decisions come between May 1 and July 15. Accepted students can attend the Spring Visit in April, and a new Personalized On-campus Visits pilot is open to accepted students only.

A few more rules for the decision stage. You have up to two weeks to respond to an offer, and no deposit is required to hold your seat. Deferred entrance requests are considered. UC Davis does not offer an Early Decision Program. The waitlist typically holds 100 to 150 applicants, and the number of offers made from it varies from year to year.

Visiting and learning more

The school offers a five-minute video tour, a self-guided audio walking tour of the Sacramento campus (buildings open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.) and virtual information sessions with an admissions presentation and, at some sessions, a medical student panel. Remaining 2026-2027 sessions are scheduled for November 13, 2026, January 29, 2027, February 26, 2027 and April 30, 2027. The school does not offer individual private tours.

Tuition, Cost of Attendance and Financial Aid

Are you a California resident? Will you be living alone or with roommates? Which year of medical school are you budgeting for? All these questions affect your cost of attendance at UC Davis School of Medicine. The Financial Aid Office publishes an estimated budget for each year of the MD program. Here is the 2026-2027 budget:

Out-of-state students pay Nonresident Supplemental Tuition of $12,245 per academic year on top of these figures, so nonresident tuition and fees come to $62,214 for 2026-2027.

A few things to understand about this budget:

• Four-year total. Added together, the four resident budgets come to $369,000 at 2026-2027 rates. Actual costs will be higher because the budget does not include yearly increases.
• Tuition is set by the UC Regents and may change without notice. Tuition and fees are charged regardless of whether instruction happens in person or remotely.
• Board prep is included. Books and supplies include required Step 1 prep (First Aid and two NBME self-assessments) and Step 2 CK prep (a content review resource and ten practice shelf exams). USMLE exam fees ($695 each for Step 1 and Step 2 CK) are not included.
• Health insurance is mandatory under UC Regents policy. The school offers the Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP), and you can waive it if you have comparable coverage, which would lower your actual cost.
• One budget for everyone. UC Davis gives every student a single-student budget regardless of marital or family status. The Financial Aid Office lets you document certain additional expenses.
• Sacramento is cheaper than coastal California. The school notes that Sacramento’s cost of living is one of the lowest among major California cities, which helps keep the housing line lower than at Bay Area or Los Angeles schools.
• ACE students pay the same tuition as four-year students for three years, with a slightly higher first year because of the June start. They graduate a year earlier.

Financial aid and scholarships

Financial need is determined with a simple formula: cost of attendance minus your resources equals your financial need. To be considered for all aid:

1. File the FAFSA (or the California Dream Act Application if you meet AB 540 criteria) by the priority deadline. For 2026-2027, the priority deadline was March 3, 2026.
2. Complete the UC Davis School of Medicine Financial Aid Supplemental Application. Admitted applicants must submit it by the March deadline or within three weeks of their offer, whichever is later.
3. Complete the Parent Income Verification form. It is required for Loans for Disadvantaged Students and is used for admissions scholarships.
4. Send any additional documents the office requests promptly, or your aid will be delayed.

Nearly everyone uses aid: in 2024-2025, 98% of enrolled and graduated students received financial aid, and graduates who borrowed left with an average of $157,975 in medical school debt. All students are considered for School of Medicine grants and scholarships. In fiscal year 2024-25, the school provided more than $973,000 in scholarships to 176 students through philanthropy. Admitted students and current students can also apply each year for restricted endowment funds and institutional scholarships, usually in early summer, and receive the school’s Monies for Medicine guide to outside scholarships. Note that scholarship offers from other schools will not change UC Davis’s merit or need-based awards. The school will not match other offers.

Pathway programs add support. CHS students in every track are eligible for additional scholarship funding each year. ACE students receive a scholarship to offset costs. ARC-MD includes scholarship support and a stipend for its research year. MD/PhD students have tuition, fees, health insurance and a stipend covered for their medical school years.

The UC Davis Health Financial Aid Office publishes the current budget, deadlines and forms. Contact the office at 916-734-4120 or [email protected] with questions about your situation.

Campus Facilities and Student Life

The Sacramento campus

UC Davis School of Medicine is located in Sacramento, California, and has been serving Northern California since its first class in 1968. The Education Building, which houses the Office of Admissions and the Blaisdell Medical Library, sits across the street from UC Davis Medical Center, one of the nation’s leading teaching hospitals and Inland California’s only Level 1 trauma center. Many research laboratories, the MIND Institute, the Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Institute for Regenerative Cures are on the same Sacramento campus. The Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing is also on campus, which makes interprofessional learning part of daily life.

Living in Sacramento

Sacramento is the state capital, with farm-to-fork restaurants, the Golden 1 Center, the Crocker Art Museum, Old Sacramento and the American River Parkway bike trail. Folsom Lake is about 25 miles away, Lake Tahoe and the San Francisco Bay Area are about two hours away, and Yosemite is less than three hours away. The school notes that Sacramento’s cost of living is one of the lowest among major California cities. Students live in neighborhoods such as East Sacramento, Land Park, Midtown and Oak Park, or in nearby cities such as Davis, Elk Grove, Folsom and West Sacramento. Plan on having a car: students are required to hold a current driver’s license and have a vehicle.

Student-run clinics

For more than 50 years, UC Davis-affiliated student-run clinics have provided free care to uninsured, low-income and other under-resourced residents of Sacramento. About 85 percent of UC Davis medical students volunteer at these clinics, usually in their first or second year, and the clinics are part of the first two years’ curriculum. Undergraduates also volunteer and receive course credit. Clinics offer prenatal and well-child exams, immunizations, diabetes and hypertension care, women’s health services, preventive education and flu shots.

The eight affiliated clinics are:

• Paul Hom Asian Clinic (founded 1971): primary and specialty care for Asian and Pacific Islander communities.
• Clínica Tepatí (1974): care for downtown Sacramento’s Latino community, with Spanish interpretation for more than 1,000 patients a year.
• Imani Clinic (1994): founded in Oak Park in response to health disparities among African American residents.
• Shifa Clinic: culturally sensitive care for South Asian and Muslim communities, with specialty clinics.
• Joan Viteri Memorial Clinic: harm reduction and care for people who use drugs, sex workers, LGBTQ patients and uninsured Oak Park residents.
• Bayanihan Clinic (2002): care for Filipino immigrants and other underserved communities.
• The Willow Clinic (2009): care for people experiencing homelessness.
• RIVER Clinic: pediatric primary and mental health care in school-based settings.

Partner clinics include VN CARES (cancer screening for Vietnamese communities), the Knights Landing One Health Center for rural farmworker families (with veterinary services from the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine), the Hmong-focused HLUB clinic, the Gender Health Clinic and the Nadezhda Clinic for Russian-speaking patients.

If you volunteer at a free clinic now, describe what you did and what you learned. These clinics show how seriously UC Davis takes hands-on service, and applicants who already understand this kind of work can explain why it matters to them.

Student support

The school offers academic coaching, a four-tier advising system, specialty advisors, career advising and student wellness services. Its Pre-Matriculation Program, strongly recommended for CHS students, builds study skills before classes start. The Office of Medical Pathways and the Office of Student Development support students from disadvantaged backgrounds, and the school states a strong commitment to disability inclusion with confidential disability support.

Organizations and global health

Students can join student interest groups, including the Global Health Student Interest Group, and attend the Dean’s Monthly Global Health Night. The school also hosts the HEALTH Equity Academy and a number of community partnerships. Because the school draws so many students from California’s diverse communities, many students bring languages and cultural experience that the clinics depend on.

Clinical Rotations and Research Opportunities

Where you train

Your core clinical training happens at UC Davis Medical Center and affiliated sites across Northern California. Students start early: the Longitudinal Clinical Experience puts you in an ambulatory clinic about every other week during the first two years. In the third year, you’ll complete six core clerkships in inpatient and ambulatory settings. Students who rotate to sites more than 25 miles from campus receive a mileage stipend.

Family medicine gets special attention. UC Davis requires a family medicine clerkship, and students can choose experiences in reproductive health, gender-affirming care, the Sacramento County Health Center (which serves a large Medi-Cal population) or several weeks in rural far Northern California. Pathway students train in their regions: Rural PRIME at rural hospitals and clinics in California and Oregon, REACH across the Central Valley, TEACH-MS at Sacramento sites serving low-income communities, Tribal Health PRIME at sites serving American Indian communities, PRIME Central Coast on the Central Coast and Rural ACE students in Shasta, Nevada and Humboldt counties.

The school also leads the COMET (California Oregon Medical Education and Training) Collaborative, a partnership of more than 50 organizations across Northern California and Southern Oregon that gives students additional elective and community-based training. COMET grew out of COMPADRE, a UC Davis and Oregon Health and Science University partnership to admit and train students from rural and tribal communities.

Outcomes

The residency match rate for UC Davis graduates has been 99.5% over the past 20 years. At Match Day 2026, 121 of 122 students who entered the match secured positions. Half matched into primary care fields, a record 91% will stay in California and 23% will stay at UC Davis for residency.

Global health

UC Davis approaches global health through One Health, which links the health of people, animals and the environment and draws on the university’s schools of medicine, nursing and veterinary medicine. Students can take a global health rotation in the summer after the first year, during the third-year selective block or in the final year, and earn credit toward graduation. One Health field courses have traditionally been offered in East Africa and Sri Lanka. On the 2025 Graduation Questionnaire, 13% of graduating seniors reported a global health experience during medical school. If you are interested in care abroad before medical school, pre-med internships abroad can show you how clinical care works in low-resource settings, which is good preparation for these rotations.

Research for every student

UC Davis School of Medicine students have several ways to build research into their training:

• Medical Student Research Fellowship: four or seven weeks of research in the summer after the first year, in basic science, clinical investigation or health care delivery.
• Third-year research selective: use 2, 4 or 6 weeks of the selective block for research.
• Fourth-year longitudinal research: a 12-month project with a mentor, ending in a paper and a Poster Day presentation. Students can earn up to 8 weeks of graduation credit for research.
• Areas of scholarly concentration: learning communities in clinical or translational research, global health, health care policy and advocacy, medical education, and quality improvement and patient safety, each with a capstone project.
• TL1 Pre-Doctoral Clinical Research Training Program: a year of clinical and translational research training with the option to earn an M.A.S. in Clinical Research.
• MD/PhD and ARC-MD: described in the programs section above.

The school had $332.8 million in external research funding in fiscal year 2024-25 and ranked 31st in NIH funding, as ranked by the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research. Major research centers include the MIND Institute (neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism), the Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Center for Reducing Health Disparities, the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and the NIH-funded Clinical and Translational Science Center. Through the MD/PhD program, students can also work in labs in the School of Veterinary Medicine and the colleges of Biological Sciences, Engineering and Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Research experience is one of the experiences the Admissions Committee considers, and the Class of 2029 averaged 1,304 research hours. You do not need publications to be admitted, but you should be able to explain your role, your question and what you learned.

Notable Alumni, Faculty, Leadership and Admissions Staff

The people below hold current roles at UC Davis School of Medicine or are verified graduates of its MD program. We include them so you can understand who leads the school’s priorities. Do not contact faculty to lobby for admission, and do not assume any person below reviews applications.

School leadership

Susan Murin, M.D., M.Sc., M.B.A., Dean. Murin leads the school’s education, research, clinical care and community partnership missions, with more than 3,500 faculty and staff, over 600 students and 900 trainees in graduate medical education. A pulmonary and critical care physician, she has been at UC Davis for more than 30 years and has also cared for veterans through a joint appointment at the Mather VA. She earned her MD at New York University and an M.B.A. from the UC Davis Graduate School of Management. Her welcome message frames the school as “a mission-driven community of learners, physicians, scientists, and staff committed to advancing health equity and improving lives.”

Mark Servis, M.D., Vice Dean for Medical Education. Servis is responsible for all of undergraduate medical education, including admissions, financial aid, student support and wellness, and he works closely with faculty on the curriculum. A professor of clinical psychiatry and a UC Davis faculty member since 1989, he helped create several of the school’s workforce tracks, including Rural PRIME, San Joaquin Valley PRIME and TEACH-MS. His summary of the school’s mission is useful for applicants: “if primary care is the greatest need, then we want to excel at it.”

Melody Tran-Reina, M.D., Associate Dean of Workforce Pathways and Collaboratives. Tran-Reina oversees the Community Health Scholars and three-year accelerated programs and is founding co-director of the COMET Collaborative. She is a UC Davis School of Medicine alumna and a graduate of TEACH-MS, Class of 2015, the program she now leads. She still practices primary care at the Sacramento County Health Center and is working with UC Santa Cruz to launch PRIME Central Coast. If you are applying to a CHS track, her path shows exactly what these programs are built to produce.

Sean Muñoz, M.D., F.A.A.P., Interim Associate Dean, Office of Medical Pathways. Muñoz leads efforts to support learners from disadvantaged and geographically underserved backgrounds. He is a general pediatrician at the Sacramento County Health Center’s CIRCLE Clinic, which serves children in foster care, and an academic coach for REACH students. He previously mentored more than 70 CHS students on community projects.

Admissions leadership

Mark C. Henderson, M.D., M.A.C.P., Associate Dean, Admissions. Henderson is a professor of internal medicine and vice chair for education in the Department of Internal Medicine. Over 17 years, he led UC Davis’s efforts to become one of the most diverse medical schools in the U.S., and he is an expert in reforming admissions practices to expand racial-ethnic and economic diversity. He is co-principal investigator of ACE-PC and of COMPADRE. In his welcome message, he describes the school’s greatest asset as its students’ “deep commitment to academic excellence and lifelong learning, teamwork, and the highest professional standards.”

Charlene Green, Psy.D., Assistant Dean of Admissions, Outreach and Medical Pathways. Green oversees programmatic and administrative matters related to admissions, pathway programs and student and resident diversity initiatives. She is principal investigator for grants supporting the Avenue M California Medicine Scholars Program, the California Postbaccalaureate Consortium and the Huwighurruk Tribal Health Postbaccalaureate Program. She also teaches at Los Rios Community College District, a reminder that the school recruits actively from California’s community colleges.

Faculty and program leaders

Alicia Gonzalez-Flores, M.D., Executive Director, 3-Year Accelerated Pathways. Gonzalez-Flores leads ACE-PC and the newer accelerated programs. She is an internal medicine physician who completed her residency at UC Davis Medical Center. Her welcome to future students describes “early hands-on clinical training with a longitudinal primary care preceptor.” She has said, “It is deeply fulfilling to work at a school that places primary care at the heart of its mission.”

Kristin Olson, M.D., Associate Dean for Curriculum and Medical Education. Olson led the design of the I-EXPLORE curriculum and its accelerated rollout by 2023, and she served as faculty accreditation leader for the 2022 LCME visit. She is a professor of pathology and a gastrointestinal and liver pathologist. If you want to understand why UC Davis uses asynchronous lectures, the UCD 43 and protected self-study time, her curriculum work is the source.

Jennifer L. Rosenthal, M.D., M.A.S., Associate Dean for Research Education and Training. Rosenthal oversees research education for medical students, residents and fellows and chairs ARC-MD admissions. A professor of pediatrics and an NIH-funded health services researcher, she focuses on telehealth, digital health equity and family-centered care. She served on the School of Medicine Admissions Committee for years, including five as vice chair.

Luis Fernando Santana, Ph.D., Vice Dean for Basic Sciences. Santana chairs the Department of Physiology and Membrane Biology and co-directs ARC-MD. His lab studies excitation-contraction coupling in cardiac and vascular smooth muscle, and his work has appeared in journals including Science and Nature. Research-minded applicants considering ARC-MD should know that a senior basic scientist helps lead the program.

Notable alumni

Garen J. Wintemute, M.D., M.P.H. (MD 1977). Wintemute attended UC Davis School of Medicine and completed his family medicine residency at UC Davis. After working in a refugee hospital in western Cambodia in 1981, he turned to violence prevention research. He is now a distinguished professor of emergency medicine, holds the Susan P. Baker-Stephen P. Teret Chair in Violence Prevention and directs the UC Davis Centers for Violence Prevention, which include the Violence Prevention Research Program and the California Firearm Violence Research Center. He was inducted into the National Academy of Medicine in October 2025 and has authored or co-authored more than 350 peer-reviewed articles.

Nadine Burke Harris, M.D., M.P.H. (MD 2001). Burke Harris is a pediatrician and nationally known expert on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and toxic stress. She founded the Center for Youth Wellness in San Francisco and in 2019 was appointed California’s first surgeon general. The School of Medicine Alumni Association gave her its 2018 Transformational Leadership Award. Her work shows how a UC Davis graduate can carry the school’s public health focus into state policy.

Melody Tran-Reina, M.D. (TEACH-MS, Class of 2015). Profiled above under leadership, Tran-Reina is a direct example of a CHS graduate who returned to lead the pathways.

The Alumni Association’s award lists include many other graduates honored for achievement in medicine and for community service. Recent MD/PhD graduates have matched into residencies at UC Davis, Stanford, UCLA, Cleveland Clinic and Oregon Health and Science University.

Admissions Statistics and Class Profile

Class of 2029

The school’s Matriculant Demographics report for the Class of 2029, which started in 2025, is the newest class profile:

Source: UC Davis School of Medicine Matriculant Demographics, Class of 2029; Stats at a Glance for the disadvantaged and first-generation shares.

How to read these numbers

• These are averages for enrolled students. Half of the class had a lower MCAT or GPA than the average, and no minimum is published. The 3.71 overall GPA is lower than the 3.81 undergraduate GPA, likely because the overall figure also counts post-baccalaureate and graduate coursework. That matters for applicants who are raising their records through post-bacc work.
• Hours are high. The medical employment average of 2,843 hours reflects how many students worked as scribes, medical assistants, EMTs or in other paid clinical roles before applying. Long, steady clinical work is normal here, not exceptional.
• The class reflects the mission. Three in four students came from economically disadvantaged backgrounds and nearly half were first-generation college graduates. UC Davis has worked for nearly two decades to become one of the most diverse medical schools in the U.S., and its holistic review gives weight to life experience and resilience.

Accepted applicants and interviews, 2025 entering class

The medians run a little higher than the class averages above because they cover every accepted applicant, including people who chose another school, and because a median is not pulled down by a few lower scores the way an average is. The section medians show a balanced profile, with Psychological, Social and Biological Foundations the strongest at 129 and CARS the lowest at 126.

Applicants, interviews and acceptances

Application and acceptance-offer counts are not published, so there is no official acceptance rate to quote. Be wary of single acceptance-rate figures you see online without a cohort and source. What is published makes the competition clear: 419 applicants were interviewed for a class of 139, and 97% of those interviewed were California residents. The interview count is not an acceptance rate; it only shows how many people reached the final stage. In addition, the class is about 130 to 140 students, and admission to each pathway is a further selection from within the admitted class, with as few as four to eight seats per track.

Pathway seats in context

Tips and Strategies for Admission

UC Davis School of Medicine places a lot of emphasis on patient care, interpersonal skills and lifelong learning. Healthcare, leadership and research experience are major factors in who is accepted, and life experience in general is also considered. Here is how to turn that into a stronger application.

1. Make your California story concrete

The school’s mission is to train physicians for California, and it asks every secondary applicant about connections to Northern or Central California. If you have those ties, document them with specifics: where you grew up, went to school, worked or volunteered, who your patients were and where you plan to practice. If you are an out-of-state applicant, be honest about your ties. Time spent in the region, family there and real familiarity with the community count. A vague wish to “live in California” does not.

2. Build long, steady clinical experience

The Class of 2029 averaged 2,843 hours of medical employment. That does not mean you need a full-time job, but it does mean UC Davis is used to applicants who have worked as medical assistants, scribes, EMTs, CNAs, pharmacy technicians or community health workers for a year or more. Start early, stay with roles that give you patient contact and keep notes on specific patients and moments. Pre-med internships and other supervised clinical work can add hands-on experience, especially if you also keep a local commitment going.

3. Serve underserved communities, and show what you learned

The school’s student-run clinics, pathway programs and holistic review all point the same way. Volunteer where patients face real barriers to care, such as a free clinic, a federally qualified health center or a harm reduction program, and stay long enough to take on responsibility. In your essays, explain what you saw about the barriers your patients faced, not just how the work made you feel.

4. Choose a pathway only if it fits your history

Pathway applications are a second selection after the MD interview, and each track asks for specific evidence. Rural PRIME wants significant rural experience. REACH and PRIME Central Coast want strong regional ties. TEACH-MS wants experience in urban underserved areas and a primary care focus. Tribal Health PRIME wants significant experience with AI/AN communities. ACE wants primary care or behavioral health experience and readiness for a fast pace. Apply to the tracks your experience already supports, and skip the ones you would have to stretch to justify.

5. Use your summers well

If you are early in college, plan summers that add depth to your record: a clinical job, a research fellowship or pre-med summer internships that give you supervised patient care. Summer is also the best time to prepare for the MCAT and PREview, both of which must be done by September 30 of your application year.

6. Take the PREview seriously

Every MD applicant needs a PREview score, and an application without one is incomplete. Use the AAMC’s free practice materials and full-length sample exam, take the test by September and read the eight competencies it measures (service orientation, social skills, cultural competence, teamwork, ethical responsibility, reliability, resilience and capacity for improvement). Those competencies mirror what the MMI tests.

7. Explain your grade trend honestly

The committee looks at grades, grade trends and course load, and many UC Davis students raised their records through post-bacc or graduate work. If you have a weak semester, the secondary’s concerns question gives you 500 characters to explain it. Use them to show what you changed, not to make excuses.

8. Apply early and finish fast

Rolling admissions means interview slots and acceptances fill over time. Submit AMCAS in June if you can, take the PREview early and turn the secondary around within about two weeks, well before the 30-day deadline. The school does not accept updates after submission, so make the application complete the first time.

9. Consider a gap year if your record is thin

Many UC Davis students worked before medical school. If your clinical hours, service or grades need time to grow, a planned gap year can help. Paid clinical work, a post-bacc program (UC Davis runs one, and the Huwighurruk program serves students focused on AI/AN health) or pre-med gap year programs with supervised patient care are all options. Reapplicants should show clear growth since the last cycle.

10. Get letters from people who saw you work

You can send three to six letters, and at least one from a physician or clinician is recommended. Choose writers who supervised you with patients or in research and who can speak to the competencies the school lists, such as professionalism and communication.

Secondary Application Questions, Example Responses and Analysis

UC Davis School of Medicine reviews each AMCAS application and decides which applicants to invite to its secondary. The secondary is by invitation only. If you don’t receive an invitation, you are not being considered for admission that cycle. Invitations go out from July through December 31, so a late invitation is still possible, but you’ll want to submit your AMCAS as early as possible because UC Davis operates on a rolling basis.

The UC Davis secondary at a glance:

• Who receives it: applicants selected after AMCAS review. Invitations arrive by email.
• Fee: $120, nonrefundable. A fee waiver is available.
• Deadline: 30 days after your invitation. Aim for about two weeks.
• What it includes: essays and activities, your program of interest selections, three to six letters of recommendation, prerequisite information and the fee.
• General questions: a concerns question (500 characters), a connection question (1,000 characters) and three activity descriptions (500 characters each).
• Pathway questions: if you select a Community Health Scholars track, an accelerated pathway or ARC-MD, the portal shows an additional question for each one you choose. Write each pathway answer to 1,000 characters and follow the limit shown in your portal. The exact wording of the pathway questions for 2026-2027 has not been published, so it is covered below with practice paragraphs built on each program’s stated criteria.
• MD/PhD: MD/PhD applicants write the MD/PhD essays in AMCAS and complete the same UC Davis secondary. No separate MD/PhD secondary essay has been published.
• Characters, not words: UC Davis limits are in characters, and spaces count. 500 characters is roughly 80 to 90 words.

Every example below is an Illustrative example, not an actual applicant essay. Each was written from scratch to show structure and reflection, and the applicant details are invented for teaching. Do not copy them. Your answers must describe your own experiences.

Whether you need help with one question or the whole secondary, essay review is part of our medical school admissions consulting. Our medical school secondary essay prompts database collects prompts from other schools if you are writing several secondaries at once.

Question 1: Concerns

“Discuss any elements of your application that you feel might be concerning to the Admissions Committee (This could include explanation of metric trends, institutional actions, legal violations, etc.) Please enter N/A if no concerns to report.”

Limit: 500 characters. Who answers: all invited applicants. Enter N/A if you have nothing to report.

What it asks. Transparency is very important. If something in your application might worry the committee, such as a downward grade trend, a withdrawal, an institutional action or a legal violation, this is your chance to explain what happened. What could look bad at first glance can look much better once explained. If there is nothing to explain, enter N/A. Do not invent a concern to fill the box.

How to approach it. Use three short moves: what happened, what you did about it and what is different now. Name the facts plainly, with dates or numbers, take responsibility where it is yours and spend most of the space on the change. For an institutional action or legal issue, state it exactly as it appears in your AMCAS application and any background check. The school’s technical standards require you to disclose and explain any felony offense or disciplinary action.

Illustrative example, not an actual applicant essay (440 characters):

In spring of my second year my term GPA fell to 2.9. My father’s hours were cut, and I worked 30 hours a week as a pharmacy technician to cover rent. I retook organic chemistry that summer and earned an A, moved to a 20-hour campus job and kept a 3.8 average for my last four terms. The change that mattered most was asking for help early. I now plan each week around fixed study blocks and go to office hours before an exam, not after one.

Why it works. In under 500 characters it covers the event (one term at 2.9), the cause (work hours during a family income loss) without blaming anyone, the evidence of recovery (an A in the retaken course and a 3.8 average across four terms) and the lasting change in habits. It ends on what the applicant does now, which is what the committee needs to know.

Mistakes to avoid. Long explanations of the hardship with no evidence of recovery. Excuses that blame professors. Hiding something that appears elsewhere in your file. Using this space to explain a concern that is not really a concern, such as one B-plus.

Question 2: Connection to Northern or Central California

“Do you have a connection to Northern or Central California?”

Limit: 1,000 characters. Who answers: all invited applicants. Answer yes or no, then explain.

What it asks. UC Davis was created to serve Northern California and the Central Valley. This question lets you show your connection to the region in concrete terms. Since UC Davis gives weight to applicants with real ties, you’ll want to describe yours carefully if you have them. If you don’t, answer honestly; you’ll still be considered for admission.

How to approach it. Connections can include growing up, going to school, working or volunteering in the region, family who live there or long familiarity with its communities. Give places, years and roles. Then connect your history to a plan: where and how you hope to practice. A connection to a UC Davis employee or graduate is not the point; the school cares about your connection to the communities it serves.

Illustrative example, not an actual applicant essay (894 characters):

Yes. I was born in Woodland and grew up in Yolo County, where my mother still works at a tomato processing plant during the harvest season. I went to Woodland Community College before transferring to Sacramento State, and I have spent most of my life within 30 miles of the medical center. My first job in health care was as a medical assistant in a Stockton clinic where most patients were farmworkers or warehouse workers on Medi-Cal. I saw how far some of them drove for a specialist and how often a missed bus meant a missed appointment. For the last two years I have volunteered on Saturdays at Clínica Tepatí, doing intake in Spanish. I want to train in the region that raised me, learn from physicians who already care for these patients, and practice primary care in the Sacramento Valley or the northern San Joaquin Valley after residency. My family, my work and my plans are all here.

Why it works. It answers “yes” in the first word and then proves it with places (Woodland, Yolo County, Stockton, Sacramento), schools and roles. It shows understanding of the region’s barriers to care through one specific detail about transportation, and it names a real UC Davis student-run clinic where undergraduates volunteer. It ends with a practice plan in the region, which ties the connection to the school’s mission.

Mistakes to avoid. Answering “yes” with no evidence. Listing tourist visits. Name-dropping a faculty member or a relative who works at UC Davis Health. Claiming ties you cannot support in an interview. If your honest answer is “no,” say so in a sentence and briefly explain why you want to train in the region; don’t stretch.

Question 3: Activities (three entries)

“Please list the activities you would like to be considered in your application to UC Davis. The secondary activities may be used to highlight your experiences specifically relevant for UC Davis. You may use your most meaningful experiences listed in your initial AMCAS application or select/add others that may be relevant to UC Davis. Please only list three. The admissions committee will review all AMCAS application activities as well; this an opportunity to highlight your most meaningful and/or relevant to UC Davis School of Medicine. Please list your actual hours completed at the time of your secondary submission, not projected commitment. Therefore, enter your secondary application submission date as your end date for activities still in progress. Briefly describe this activity and its significance. How did it prepare you for a medical career? Include any supporting information (e.g. your contribution to the project or accomplishment as well as links to any publication, etc)”

Limit: 500 characters for each description; three activities. Who answers: all invited applicants.

What it asks. The portal asks you to choose three activities and gives each one a separate field for title, dates and hours, then a 500-character description. Report actual hours completed as of the day you submit, not projected hours, and use your submission date as the end date for activities still in progress. The committee will also read your full AMCAS Work and Activities, so these three entries are your chance to highlight what is most meaningful and most relevant to UC Davis.

How to approach it. Choose three activities that together show the competencies UC Davis lists: patient care, communication, service, research or leadership. At least one should show sustained work with underserved patients. You could write about working as an EMT, a clinical internship, volunteer work or research. For each description, cover three things the prompt names: what you did and why it matters (significance), how it prepared you for medicine and any supporting information, such as your specific contribution or a publication link. Do not repeat your AMCAS description word for word. Add something new.

Activity 1. Illustrative example, not an actual applicant essay (496 characters):

Medical assistant, Stockton community health center (2,150 hours). I roomed patients, took vitals, updated medication lists and interpreted for Spanish-speaking families. I started a one-page checklist for diabetic foot checks after noticing they were missed on busy days, and our team adopted it. This job taught me how primary care runs under pressure and how much a patient’s trust depends on the first five minutes. It is the main reason I want to practice primary care in the Central Valley.

Activity 2. Illustrative example, not an actual applicant essay (498 characters):

Intake volunteer, Clínica Tepatí (310 hours). On Saturday mornings I take histories and vitals in Spanish, then present patients to the medical student and physician team. I joined the diabetes education group and helped rewrite our handouts at a lower reading level. Working beside medical students showed me what supervised learning looks like and how a free clinic depends on volunteers who return every week. I learned to slow down, ask open questions and check that a plan makes sense at home.

Activity 3. Illustrative example, not an actual applicant essay (449 characters):

Research assistant, heat illness survey of farmworkers (420 hours). With a public health faculty mentor I helped design and translate a survey on heat symptoms and water access, then collected 180 responses at two field sites. I cleaned the data and co-wrote a poster presented at our campus research day. The project taught me to turn a clinic observation into a testable question, and to report results back to the community that gave us its time.

Why they work. Each entry opens with role, setting and hours, then gives one concrete contribution (a foot-check checklist, rewritten handouts, a survey and poster), then says how the activity prepared the applicant for medicine. Together they cover paid primary care work, service at a UC Davis-affiliated student-run clinic and research tied to Central Valley health, so they show patient care, communication and research while reinforcing the connection answer. None of them repeats the AMCAS descriptions; each adds a specific detail or a lesson.

Mistakes to avoid. Picking three activities that all show the same thing. Using projected hours. Spending the 500 characters on job duties without saying what you learned. Choosing a prestigious activity you barely did over a humble one you did for years.

Pathway questions (Community Health Scholars, accelerated pathways and ARC-MD)

If you select a pathway on the secondary, an additional question appears for each one. The school has not published the 2026-2027 wording of these questions. Write each answer to 1,000 characters and follow the limit shown in your portal. Read the question in the portal carefully and answer exactly what it asks. In past cycles, these questions have asked about your experience with the community a track serves and your plans to serve it, so it helps to draft that material now.

The school publishes what each track looks for. Build your answer around that evidence. The practice paragraphs below are each under 1,000 characters and show how to turn a track’s criteria into specific, honest writing. They are not responses to a specific published question.

Rural PRIME

What the school looks for: “A significant knowledge of and/or experience in rural settings, including a familiarity with underserved populations” and “Commitment to practice in a rural community in California after graduation and residency.”

Practice paragraph. Illustrative example, not an actual applicant essay (512 characters):

I grew up in Quincy, where the nearest OB unit closed when I was in high school and my aunt delivered in the back of a car on Highway 70. For two summers I worked as an EMT with our volunteer fire district, and most calls ended in a long drive. Those drives are why Rural PRIME appeals to me. I want 20 weeks of clerkships in places like Plumas County, training in telehealth and teaching on rural law and pesticide exposure, so I can return to a town like mine as a family physician who can also deliver babies.

Why it works. It shows rural knowledge through lived detail (a closed OB unit, long ambulance drives), names features that are actually part of Rural PRIME (20 weeks of rural clerkships, telemedicine training, rural law and pesticide exposure teaching) and ends with a clear rural practice goal. Plumas District Hospital in Quincy is a real Rural PRIME clerkship site.

REACH

What the school looks for: “Commitment to practice in California’s Central Valley after graduation and residency” and “Strong ties to California’s Central Valley communities, such as having grown up there, currently residing there, or having considerable prior experience.”

Practice paragraph. Illustrative example, not an actual applicant essay (484 characters):

My parents picked grapes outside Delano, and I translated at every clinic visit from age nine. In college I worked at a Fresno County health center where many patients waited months for a specialist. REACH fits what I already plan to do: return to the Central Valley. I want its 24 weeks of clerkships in the region, the summer rotation at a Valley site and the curriculum on water politics and pesticide exposure, because those are the issues my patients will bring to the exam room.

Why it works. The tie to the Valley is shown, not claimed, and the paragraph links the applicant’s history to REACH’s actual features: the summer rotation, 24 weeks of Valley clerkships and teaching on water politics and pesticide exposure.

TEACH-MS

What the school looks for: “Significant knowledge of and experience in urban underserved areas, including a familiarity with different populations and cultures, public health issues specific to urban environments” and “A desire to practice primary care in urban underserved communities (such as Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, or Pediatrics).”

Practice paragraph. Illustrative example, not an actual applicant essay (491 characters):

I grew up in Oak Park and used free clinics until college. As a community health worker in south Sacramento I helped patients sign up for Medi-Cal and find a primary care home, and I saw how often people used the emergency department because no clinic would see them. TEACH-MS matches the work I want to do for my career: primary care for urban underserved patients, with training in addiction medicine, harm reduction and advocacy, and clerkships at sites that serve low-income communities.

Why it works. It gives urban underserved experience with a public health insight (emergency department use when no clinic accepts Medi-Cal), states a primary care goal and ties both to TEACH-MS teaching on addiction medicine, harm reduction and advocacy.

Tribal Health PRIME

What the school looks for: “Significant experience with American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities and commitment to serve tribes and communities after graduation and residency” and “Knowledge of and experience in tribal, AI/AN communities with understanding of cultural differences among tribes.”

Practice paragraph. Illustrative example, not an actual applicant essay (542 characters):

I am an enrolled member of a Northern California tribe and grew up between my reservation and Redding. I worked two summers at a tribal health clinic front desk, and I helped with a diabetes prevention walking group run by community elders. I learned that trust is earned through showing up, and that care works best when it respects tribal self-determination. Tribal Health PRIME would let me learn about tribal and urban Indian health systems and train at sites that serve American Indian communities, so I can return as a family physician.

Why it works. It shows sustained, respectful involvement and an understanding of self-determination, then links that to the track’s teaching on tribal and urban Indian health systems and its clerkship sites. Only write about tribal connections you actually have; this track looks for real experience.

PRIME Central Coast

What the school looks for: “Commitment to practice in California’s central coastal communities after graduation and residency,” “Strong ties to California’s Central Coast communities” and “A strong desire to practice in primary care, preventive medicine and community health.”

Practice paragraph. Illustrative example, not an actual applicant essay (485 characters):

I grew up in Watsonville and worked through high school packing strawberries alongside my mother. Later I volunteered as a Spanish and Mixteco interpreter at a Salinas clinic, where I saw patients delay care because of cost, transportation and fear. PRIME Central Coast is the program I hoped would exist. I want to spend my clerkship year on the Central Coast, build community partnerships and practice primary care for farmworker and immigrant families in the region after residency.

Why it works. It proves regional ties, shows understanding of farmworker and immigrant health needs (the program’s stated focus) and names the track’s defining feature, a full clerkship year on the Central Coast.

Accelerated pathways (ACE-PC, Rural ACE-PC, ACE-Psych, Rural ACE-Psych)

What the school looks for: for primary care pathways, clinical experience in a primary care setting and community health or leadership experience; for psychiatry pathways, clinical experience (behavioral health a plus) and community health or leadership experience; for rural pathways, strong ties to Shasta, Nevada or Humboldt counties. Program interviews also assess fit, commitment and academic readiness.

Practice paragraph. Illustrative example, not an actual applicant essay (495 characters):

For three years I have worked as a medical scribe in a family medicine clinic, and I know I want to be a primary care physician. I have followed patients through diabetes, pregnancy and depression, and I have seen how continuity changes outcomes. An accelerated path would let me enter practice a year sooner, with a longitudinal preceptor from the first week and a third-year longitudinal integrated clerkship. I have managed full-time work with a full course load, and I am ready for the pace.

Why it works. It proves certainty about primary care with long, specific clinical exposure, names real ACE features (a longitudinal preceptor and a longitudinal integrated clerkship) and addresses academic readiness directly. If you are applying to ACE-Psych, swap in your behavioral health experience; for a rural pathway, show your ties to the target counties.

ARC-MD

What the school looks for: students “who aspire to become physician-scientists and academic research faculty” and are ready for an honors pathway that “integrates clinical training with intensive research experiences, mentorship, and a supportive learning community.”

Practice paragraph. Illustrative example, not an actual applicant essay (496 characters):

My undergraduate research on how heat exposure affects kidney function in outdoor workers began with a question from a clinic patient. Over two years I learned to design a protocol, recruit participants and present results to the community. I want a career as research faculty who still sees patients, and ARC-MD offers the structure to build it: mentorship from physician-scientists, a research-intensive year between years three and four and a learning community of students with the same goal.

Why it works. It shows a research question that grew out of patient care, real research skills and a clear academic career goal, then links them to ARC-MD’s mentorship and research year between years three and four.

Mistakes to avoid on every pathway answer. Applying to every track at once with the same paragraph. Claiming ties or commitments your AMCAS application does not support. Writing about the program’s features without connecting them to your own history. Overstating your certainty about a specialty you have barely seen.

Interview Format and Preparation

Every UC campus has its own way of evaluating applicants. At UC Davis School of Medicine, the Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) format is used.

What is confirmed

• Format: MMI, a series of short stations designed to assess experiences and attributes relevant to a career in medicine.
• Closed file: the interview is blinded. Your interviewers do not see your application, so each station is a fresh start.
• Delivery: virtual.
• Days: typically Mondays and Fridays.
• Season: from late August through the first week of April.
• After the interview: your full application goes to the Admissions Committee, and decisions come within 30 to 45 days.
• Program interviews: applicants to CHS tracks and accelerated pathways have a second, program-specific interview between January and April. ARC-MD interviews run from November through April. MD/PhD applicants have a virtual program interview with leadership, students and faculty, then the MMI.

What the MMI tests

The school says its MMI is used “to delve more deeply into the applicant’s experiences to gain a deeper understanding of attributes relevant to a medical career.” The competencies in UC Davis’s admissions criteria are a good guide: communication and listening, empathy, ethical reasoning, teamwork, professionalism, resilience and an appreciation for diverse perspectives. The PREview measures many of the same competencies.

You’ll like this format if you prefer having a moment to think before answering. It is nothing like the traditional interview format, which can help ease your nerves.

How to prepare

• Practice the structure. Read the prompt, take a breath and organize your answer: what is the issue, who is affected, what are the options and what would you do and why.
• Practice ethical scenarios involving autonomy, confidentiality, scarce resources and conflicts with colleagues.
• Practice on camera. Test your connection, lighting, sound and a quiet room. Look at the camera, not the screen.
• Bring your stories. Because the interview is closed file, interviewers will only know what you tell them. Have three or four patient-care and teamwork stories ready that you can adapt to different prompts.
• Know the mission. Be ready to talk about underserved care, California’s workforce needs and why UC Davis’s pathways and student-run clinics fit you.
• For program interviews, expect deeper questions about your commitment to the community or specialty, and be ready to discuss the specific track features you named in your secondary.

What is general practice guidance versus confirmed? The format, delivery, days and season above come from the school. The preparation advice is our editorial guidance, based on how MMIs generally work. IMA’s admissions consulting includes mock MMIs if you want practice with feedback.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is UC Davis School of Medicine hard to get into?

Yes. The entering class is about 130 to 140 students, and the Class of 2029 averaged a 511 MCAT and a 3.71 overall GPA, with very high clinical hours. Accepted applicants for the 2025 entering class had a median MCAT of 512 and a median GPA of 3.82. For that class, 419 applicants were interviewed for 139 seats. Application and acceptance-offer counts are not published, so there is no official acceptance rate to quote. Mission fit matters as much as numbers. Strong service in underserved communities and real ties to Northern or Central California make a difference.

What GPA and MCAT do I need for UC Davis?

There is no minimum GPA or MCAT screen. The Class of 2029 averaged a 3.71 overall GPA, a 3.81 undergraduate GPA, a 3.63 science GPA and a 511 MCAT (78.5 percentile). Among all accepted applicants for the 2025 entering class, the median MCAT was 512 and the median GPA was 3.82. Your MCAT must be from within 36 months of applying and taken no later than September of your application year. The committee also looks at grade trends, course load and post-bacc or graduate work.

Does UC Davis accept out-of-state applicants?

Yes. Out-of-state students can apply and pay $12,245 a year in nonresident supplemental tuition if they enroll. Ties to California are preferred for out-of-state and international applicants. For the 2025 entering class, 13 of the 419 applicants interviewed were from out of state. The mission is to train physicians for California, and the secondary asks about your connection to Northern or Central California. If you have no ties to the state, think carefully about whether your application can show why you would train and practice there.

Does UC Davis accept DACA and undocumented applicants?

Yes. Immigration status is not considered in admissions decisions, DACA recipients are encouraged to apply and the school does not share student information without a legal warrant. Students who meet AB 540 criteria can apply for state and institutional aid through the California Dream Act Application.

Does UC Davis accept international students?

Yes, if they can fund their education. International applicants (those who need a visa) must complete the School of Medicine Financial Statement and show reliable funding for the entire program, because they are not eligible for U.S. financial aid. MD/PhD applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

Is the PREview required at UC Davis? What about CASPer?

The PREview is required for all MD applicants, and the school’s deadline is September 30. MD/PhD applicants and Huwighurruk scholars are exempt. CASPer is not accepted as a substitute. If you took the AAMC Situational Judgment Test in 2020 or later and are happy with your score, you do not need to retake it.

What are the prerequisites for UC Davis School of Medicine?

One year each of biological sciences, general chemistry, organic chemistry (or biochemistry or another chemistry) and physics, each equal to 8 units. You need a bachelor’s degree verified by AMCAS by July 1 of the year you start. Online courses are accepted and labs are not required. Prerequisites must be finished by the spring before you enroll.

Does UC Davis accept online or community college courses?

Yes to both. Prerequisites can be taken at any U.S. accredited college or university, including community colleges, and online coursework is accepted. In-person courses with labs are preferred. AP credit counts if it appears on your transcript with a clear equivalency, but CLEP does not.

When is the UC Davis secondary due, and how much does it cost?

Each secondary is due 30 days after you receive the invitation, and the fee is $120 (nonrefundable). Invitations go out from July through December 31. Aim to submit within about two weeks.

What are the UC Davis secondary essay questions?

There are three general questions: a concerns question (500 characters), a connection to Northern or Central California question (1,000 characters) and three activity descriptions (500 characters each). If you choose a pathway, you answer an additional question for each one. See the secondary section above for the full prompts and examples.

What is the UC Davis interview format?

UC Davis uses a virtual, closed-file Multiple Mini Interview, typically on Mondays and Fridays, from late August through early April. Pathway applicants also have a program interview between January and April.

How much does UC Davis School of Medicine cost?

For 2026-2027, tuition and fees are $49,969 a year for California residents, and nonresidents pay an extra $12,245. The total first-year resident cost of attendance, including living costs and health insurance, is $92,425. The four-year resident budget adds up to $369,000 at 2026-2027 rates.

Can I apply to more than one Community Health Scholars track?

Yes. If you are invited to the secondary, you may apply to more than one CHS track that fits your interests and goals. Many applicants apply to both Rural PRIME and REACH, or PRIME Central Coast and Rural PRIME, because the communities overlap.

Does UC Davis have a three-year MD program?

Yes. ACE-PC is a three-year MD for future family medicine or internal medicine physicians, created with Kaiser Permanente Northern California in 2014. Rural ACE-PC, ACE-Psych and Rural ACE-Psych follow the same three-year model. Each admits a small number of students after they are accepted to the traditional MD program.

What is the ACE-MD program?

There is no program by that name. The three-year program is ACE-PC (Accelerated Competency-based Education in Primary Care), and UC Davis now offers it alongside Rural ACE-PC, ACE-Psych and Rural ACE-Psych. You apply through AMCAS and indicate your interest on the secondary.

Does UC Davis offer an MD/PhD program?

Yes. The MD/PhD program is approved for five students a year, funds the four medical school years with tuition, fees, health insurance and a stipend, and lets students earn a PhD in any UC Davis graduate group, including the social sciences and humanities. Applicants do not take the PREview.

Can I send updates or a letter of interest after I apply?

No. UC Davis does not accept application updates after submission, including new activities or extra letters. Major changes, such as a change in citizenship status or a nationally recognized award, may be considered case by case.

How important is clinical experience for UC Davis?

Very important. Health care experience is a major factor, and the Class of 2029 averaged 2,843 hours of medical employment and 514 hours of medical volunteering. Look for roles with real patient contact, such as medical assistant, scribe, EMT or CNA, and stay with them long enough to take on responsibility.

Does UC Davis offer Early Decision or require a deposit?

No to both. UC Davis does not offer an Early Decision Program, and no deposit is required when you accept an offer. You have up to two weeks to respond to an offer, and requests to defer entry are considered.

Is there a fee waiver for the UC Davis secondary?

Yes. The secondary fee is $120, and a fee waiver is available. The PREview is also free if you qualify for the AAMC Fee Assistance Program.

When does medical school start at UC Davis?

Orientation and classes begin in July, with dates that vary each year. For the class entering in 2027, classes begin July 19, 2027. CHS students attend a required orientation about three weeks earlier, and accelerated pathway students start in June with a six-week Summer Immersion Course.

Related Medical School Guides

UC Davis School of Medicine is a wonderful school. It’s great if you want to apply, and it will be fantastic if you get in. But there’s no guarantee you will, so we want you to apply to UC Davis and several other medical schools. Each application you submit increases your chances of getting into medical school.

These California guides are good places to start:

• Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science College of Medicine: a Los Angeles MD program with a mission focused on underserved communities, for applicants who share UC Davis’s service priorities.
• California Northstate University College of Medicine: a private MD school in the Sacramento area, useful if you want to train in the same region.
• USC Keck School of Medicine: a private Los Angeles school with a large county hospital, for applicants who want urban safety-net training.
• UCLA Medical School: another UC school with its own PRIME program, a good comparison for applicants weighing UC options.
• UC San Diego School of Medicine: a research-intensive UC school in Southern California with its own PRIME track.
• California University of Science and Medicine: a newer private MD school in the Inland Empire with a community focus.
• UC Riverside School of Medicine: a community-based UC school built to serve Inland Southern California, the closest match to UC Davis’s regional workforce mission in the south.

To compare every option in the state, see our guide to medical schools in California. If you want to see how selective schools compare, note that UC Davis applicants also often look at schools such as Brown and Yale, which publish their own admissions statistics.

We’ve compiled a list of guides to other schools across the country. Just like this guide, they’ll help you determine which schools are right for you:

• Harvard Medical School
• UT Southwestern Medical School
• Long School of Medicine at UT Health San Antonio
• University of the Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine
• UT Austin’s Dell Medical School
• UTMB School of Medicine
• McGovern Medical School at UT Health
• Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
• The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine
• UNT Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine
• University of Houston College of Medicine
• Texas A&M College of Medicine
• Baylor College of Medicine
• George Washington University School of Medicine
• Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
• St. George’s University School of Medicine
• Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (in Pennsylvania)
• Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University
• Wake Forest University School of Medicine
• Western University of Health Sciences (in California)
• Drexel University College of Medicine
• Stritch School of Medicine at Loyola University Chicago
• Georgetown University School of Medicine
• Perelman School of Medicine
• NYU Medical School
• Washington University School of Medicine

Good luck deciding on medical schools!

How International Medical Aid Can Help

International Medical Aid (IMA) supports pre-health students in two ways that fit what UC Davis looks for: hands-on clinical experience and admissions advising. IMA is an independent organization. It is not affiliated with UC Davis, and taking part in an IMA program does not affect admission decisions at UC Davis or any other school.

Clinical experience. IMA runs medical internships abroad for pre-health students in Kenya and other sites. In our internships for pre-med students, interns work in clinics and hospitals under supervision. They take vitals, do patient intake and triage and help with direct patient care. Our medical internships for undergraduates fit into a summer or a gap year, and you can compare all of our healthcare internships abroad on one page. Applicants drawn to UC Davis’s Spanish-language clinics, such as Clínica Tepatí, may find a medical internship in Peru a good way to practice clinical work in Spanish. If ACE-Psych or behavioral health interests you, our mental health internships abroad focus on that field.

International experience should add to, not replace, your local service. UC Davis’s mission is about California’s communities, so the strongest applications pair sustained work close to home with any experience abroad, then reflect on what changed in your thinking about access to care. Pre-health internships are most useful when you can explain what you did with your hands and what you learned about patients.

Admissions consulting. Our medical school admissions consulting team works with students to brainstorm, outline, edit and proofread essays, including UC Davis’s connection, activities and pathway questions. We also run mock Multiple Mini Interviews and help you build a school list. If you have questions, we’d be happy to answer them or reach out to get started.

Final Thoughts and Sources

UC Davis School of Medicine is a strong choice if you want to train at a public school built to serve California, with a national reputation in primary care, a large research program and more structured pathways into underserved care than almost any other school. Its Community Health Scholars tracks, three-year accelerated programs, student-run clinics and required family medicine clerkship make it different from most UC schools. It is also highly selective, and its class is shaped by mission: real clinical work, service to under-resourced communities and ties to Northern or Central California.

Your next step depends on where you are. If you are in the 2026-2027 cycle, finish your secondary within two weeks of your invitation, choose only the pathways your experience supports and prepare for a virtual MMI. If you are planning for 2027-2028, build sustained clinical work in underserved settings, take the PREview and MCAT by September and start AMCAS when it opens May 1. Remember, if you need any help along the way, our medical school admissions consulting team is here for you. Best of luck from International Medical Aid!

Sources

Facts in this guide were checked against these sources on October 18, 2026. Cohort and academic year labels appear with each figure above.

• UC Davis School of Medicine, How to Apply: application steps, AMCAS deadline, secondary fee, letters, interviews, decisions, update policy, international and undocumented applicants and LCME accreditation.
• UC Davis School of Medicine, Admissions Timeline, Pre-medical Requirements and AAMC PREview Exam Requirement.
• UC Davis School of Medicine, Matriculant Demographics, Class of 2029 (PDF) and Applicant Handbook (PDF, 2026).
• UC Davis School of Medicine, Stats at a Glance, Strategic Plan, Leadership Team and leadership biographies, Why UC Davis and Living in Sacramento.
• UC Davis Health Financial Aid, School of Medicine Cost of Attendance, 2026-2027.
• UC Davis School of Medicine, Community Health Scholars pages (overview, how to apply, curriculum, Rural PRIME and clerkship sites, REACH, TEACH-MS, Tribal Health PRIME and PRIME Central Coast).
• UC Davis School of Medicine, 3-Year Accelerated Pathways pages (overview, how to apply, curriculum, ACE-PC, Rural ACE-PC, ACE-Psych and Rural ACE-Psych), MD/PhD overview and how to apply, ARC-MD application process, medical student research, dual degree programs and the Huwighurruk Tribal Health Postbaccalaureate Program.
• UC Davis M.D. Program, I-EXPLORE curriculum overview and required curriculum, student-run clinics, global health and LCME accreditation pages.
• UC Davis Health news: Class of 2029 induction (July 2025), Wintemute National Academy of Medicine induction (October 2025), Match Day 2026 (March 2026), primary care pipeline and U.S. News tiers (April 2026); UC Davis Health magazine, Summer 2019; School of Medicine Alumni Association award recipients.
• AAMC Medical School Admission Requirements (MSAR), UC Davis School of Medicine profile, 2026 edition: accepted-applicant MCAT and GPA medians, interview counts and matriculant gender for the 2025 entering class, estimated new entrants, enrollment, fee waiver, Early Decision, deposit, response window, deferral, waitlist, MCAT policy, transportation requirement, aid and debt (2024-2025) and global health participation (2025 Graduation Questionnaire). Checked October 18, 2026.
• Secondary prompts: 2026-2027 wording as shown in the UC Davis secondary application, checked October 18, 2026.