All second year students must attend the Orientation to Third Year prior to receiving their third year schedules. The Office of Student Affairs will also provide opportunities for one-on-one counseling sessions for any interested students. The sequencing of the clinical clerkships in year three for each student is variable. Course Directors determine the dates clerkships are available and the maximum and minimum number of students for each rotation. Clerkship tracks are assigned through an electronic match process based on the student’s preferences. Students are given the opportunity to provide the Office of Student Affairs and the Registrar their top priorities in their schedules. Every effort is made to accommodate these requests, however, they cannot be guaranteed.

Should an alternative scheduling placement be requested, the student should first meet with the Associate Dean for Student Affairs to discuss the concern. The decision of the Associate Dean for Students will be communicated to the Office of Curricular Affairs.

The School of Medicine Registrar is responsible for enrolling all students in their respective clerkships with the Main Campus Registrar’s office. That record will be used to post courses and final grades on your Official Transcript.

Schedule Changes

Requests for schedule changes based on a significant hardship are addressed on an individual basis by the Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Associate Dean for Clinical Science Education. Such hardships include personal or family illness, multiple shelf exam failures, severe conflicts on rotation etc. Non-hardship requests for schedule change will be accommodated if a student identifies another student who is willing to trade clerkship schedules. Both students must notify the Registrar by email that they are agreeable to the proposed schedule swap.

Scheduling Electives in the Third Year

During the third and fourth years, students must take a minimum of 28 weeks of electives. At least 24 out of the 28 weeks of the elective time in the third and fourth year of medical school must be for clinical rotations. Third year students must take at least 2 weeks of elective but not more than 4 weeks of electives. Student must complete an Elective preference form at least 30 days before their scheduled elective block. There are a variety of approved elective courses consisting of at least 30 contact hours per week. The particular courses each student takes will depend upon his/her interest, needs and career goals. A student will not receive credit for any course work he/she is not enrolled in 2 weeks prior to participating in the course activities. No retroactive credit will be applied. Changes must be made 2 weeks prior to the beginning of the rotation.

The following are absolute scheduling deadlines for each quarter:

Quarter	Courses listed under	Deadline
Summer 2017	Term 1	07/31/2018
Fall 2017	Term 2	10/26/2018
Winter 2018	Term 3	02/01/2019
Spring 2018	Term 4	03/29/2019

Absolutely no changes to a schedule can be done for a quarter once the absolute deadline has passed regardless of the 2 weeks’ notice.

Important Steps for Scheduling Third Year Electives

1. Review the Third Year Electives List and identify the electives you would like to take. Make sure you meet the prerequisites for the elective. Further information can be found in the Electives Course Catalog.

2. Complete the Third Year Elective Preference Form . Use this SAMPLE Third Year Elective Preference Form as a reference.

3. Submit your completed Third Year Elective Preference Form to the Clinical Foundations III course assignment prior to your elective block (you must adhere to enrollment timeframes above) so they can accessed by Med Ed when scheduling.

Completing the Third-Year Elective Preference Form

Check the Schedule Grid through the Student Scheduling system to see if there are open spots for the electives you would like to take. When searching on the Schedule Grid under “open rotations”, cross reference with the course catalog for those courses being offered. Courses that are not currently being offered may also show up and cannot be scheduled.
Check the Electives Course Catalogue to determine the number of weeks the course is offered (1, 2, or 4).
List a site preference if the rotation you are requesting is offered at more than one location.

Submitting the Third-Year Elective Preference Form

Submit preference forms in the Clinical Foundations III course assignment a minimum of two months (60 days) before the start the your scheduled elective block.
If course director approval is required before enrollment, submit a copy of the approval, e.g., an email from the course coordinator, with the preference form.
If requesting a research elective, submit the Research Elective Application with the preference form.

Electives Scheduling FAQ

What is the length of each elective?
- The length (duration) of each elective can be found in the Electives Course Catalog. Electives can only be taken for the durations that are stated in the course catalog. For example, the 600L SURGICAL ANATOMY elective is offered for 2 or 4 weeks.
If I submit my elective preferences in Canvas now, can I change my preferences at a later time?
- You may re-submit updated preference forms in the Canvas assignment (by clicking on the “Re-submit Assignment button”) up to 60 days before the start of your scheduled elective block.