​Thank you for your interest in proposing a new School of Medicine course. Below please find information about the course approval process. Questions may be directed to the Electives Coordinator.

The Approval Process

All new elective clerkship proposals are reviewed by the Electives Committee (EC). The EC meets regularly during the year. Please submit all paperwork as early as possible (preferably five months in advance of the quarter in which you wish to offer the course). You will be notified if the course is approved. Upon approval, SOM staff will be in contact with you to coordinate student enrollment in your course.

Note: Once approved, your course will be reviewed on a routine basis (typically every three years) by the EC. You will be contacted when your course is due for review.

Definition of a Senior Elective Clerkship

These are clerkships that students take in their fourth year of medical school. Depending on the nature of the experience, the clerkship may be designated as Direct Patient Care (DPC). A DPC clerkship is one in which the student becomes part of a treating team, as opposed to providing consultation to other physicians who are responsible for treatment. The idea is that on a DPC clerkship, the student is part of the team that makes decisions and executes those decisions in the management of patients. DPC clerkships are further categorized as Inpatient, Ambulatory Care/Outpatient, and Primary Care. For information on the current DPC clerkship requirement, click here.

When planning your curriculum, please keep the following in mind:

• Elective clerkships are four weeks in length, and students receive seven units credit upon successful completion of the course.
• Grading is Honors/Near Honors/Pass/Fail.
• Be sure the course schedule complies with UCSD School of Medicine's policy on medical student work hours.

Required Paperwork

• Proposal Form
• Syllabus (see syllabus template for guidance on required content)
  
• UCSD Request for Course Approval Form (The Electives Coordinator will obtain all necessary signatures on this form.)
• OASIS Information Form
  

Please type all forms and submit via email to the Electives Coordinator.

Additional Information

Policy on Course Directors

The course director must have a UCSD School of Medicine faculty appointment in the appropriate series. For example, instructional titles in the appropriate series include: salaried UCSD School of Medicine professors, professors in residence, professors of clinical _____ (e.g., medicine), clinical professors, adjunct professors. Faculty members who hold instructional titles of any rank in the appropriate series can direct courses. Voluntary clinical faculty members are not considered as having the "appropriate instructional" titles to serve as sole course directors of UCSD School of Medicine courses. Questions regarding this UCSD policy may be directed to Denise LeStrange.

Resources for Course Development

The Office of Educational Development and Evaluation provides assistance with evaluations and course and faculty development. For more information, please visit the MedEDTechEval site.

For Reference

• Policy on medical student work hours
• Policy on appropriate treatment of medical students-standards of professional behavior

Current Medical Student Elective Requirement

• Electives curriculum requirements