Grading System for Pre-Clinical Years

Honors: 90-100
High Pass: 75-89
Pass: 65-74
Fail: 64 and below

Grading System for Clinical Years

For the clinical third year, final clerkship grades for the class are approximately as follows. Final grades are curved accordingly:

30% Honors
40% High Pass
30% Pass

Students are evaluated in the basic science/preclinical courses by quizzes given throughout the course and by final examinations. Examinations may be written multiple-choice or essay, oral, practical laboratory, or microscopy.

During clinical studies, students are evaluated in the six major clerkships:  Internal Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Surgery, and Neurology

  1. On the basis of their performance in the clerkship
  2. An oral examination
  3. By a multiple-choice written examination.

The Emergency Medicine course is evaluated on a Pass/Fail basis. A seventh clerkship in Family Medicine is graded by performance in the clerkship as well as a final project.

All grades are transmitted to the program office in numerical form and recorded on the student’s permanent academic transcript. All courses are rated on an Honors-High Pass-Pass/Fail system, and only these ratings are recorded on the official transcripts.

Recognition of Student Achievement

The Dean’s Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement is given, according to a decision by a special committee, to outstanding students in the first and second years of study, combined preclinical studies, third year, and cumulative achievement throughout medical school.

Letters of Recommendation

Letters of recommendation reflect the student’s academic achievements during the clerkship and aspects of performance relevant to the practice of medicine, including attitudes and behavior toward patients, medical staff, and colleagues. Letters are written for all students following the clerkships in Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Ob/GYN, Surgery, and Psychiatry.

The MSPE (Medical Student Performance Evaluation)

The MSPE — also known as the Dean’s Letter — evaluates the student’s academic career at the American Medical Program. It summarizes scholastic performance in the courses and clerkships taken during the first three years of medical school, and behavior and attitudes as expressed throughout the medical studies. The MSPE is written following a personal interview with the Dean of the American Medical Program or an appointed representative.

Letters of recommendation and the MSPE are part of the student’s residency application package and play a major role in the selection of residents by hospitals in the U.S.

Student Evaluation of Teaching

Continuous upgrading of curriculum and pedagogy is achieved, in part, by feedback from students evaluating teachers and teaching methods. At the end of each course, students complete questionnaires that are evaluated by the Medical Education Unit of the faculty. Results are transmitted to the relevant academic departments, the Dean, and the Curriculum Committee.