Minnesota · Bachelor of Arts/Medical Doctor (BA/MD) Scholars Program

At a glance

DegreeMD (Medical School at the University of Minnesota)

Structure7 years

ApplyAs a high school senior

Open toMinnesota residents only.

Annual cohort10

GPA floorNot published

Test floorNot published

MCAT (to keep the seat)Not published on official page reviewed

InterviewNot published on official page reviewed

Application deadlineNovember 1

InternationalNot eligible

A BS/MD seat is conditional, not a diploma. See what it takes to keep the seat, and how the continuation terms compare across every program.

Cost and aid

Undergraduate cost and medical-school cost are separate, and a combined seat is not automatically cheaper. These are the published figures. Confirm the current year with the program before you rely on a number.

Undergraduate years

Tuition (in-state)$19,174 tuition and fees, 2026-2027 (estimated), Minnesota resident, UMN Twin Cities undergraduate; final rates set by Board of Regents summer 2026

Tuition (out-of-state)$43,332 tuition and fees, 2026-2027 (estimated), nonresident, UMN Twin Cities undergraduate; informational only for this program, which is limited to Minnesota residents

Need-based aidNeed-based aid available; admissions cost-aid page directs families to the Net Price Calculator (calculations reflect 2025-2026 tuition and fees); no specific need-based amounts published on the page

Merit aidThe University states it 'awards a number of merit-based scholarships' (not factored into the Net Price Calculator for most students); no amounts or BA/MD-specific merit awards listed on the admissions cost-aid page

Medical school years

Tuition$16,062.00 per semester Minnesota resident; $24,555.00 per semester nonresident; flat per-semester Medical School rate for the entering (Fall 2026 start) MD cohort, 2026-27 academic year; each entering cohort keeps its own rate (earlier cohorts pay their original lower rates), fees separate

In-state rate grantedNot applicable: the program is limited to Minnesota residents per the official program page ('exceptional Minnesota residents'), so all scholars pay resident rates

AidMedical School Financial Aid Office administers scholarship and grant programs based on financial need, academic achievement, academic interests, and/or non-resident status; page blocks automated fetch (HTTP 403), content confirmed via search excerpt of the official page, human should verify

Program scholarship

Program scholarshipYes

DetailsDonor-funded named award: the program 'is backed by support from the Blythe Brenden Scholarship for B.A./M.D. Joint Admissions Scholars' per a UMN Foundation story from the pre-2024 JAS era; coverage, amount, and whether every scholar receives it are not published; current availability under the renamed BA/MD Scholars Program unverified

What the program does not publish (and what to ask)

No published GPA floor. The screen is holistic. The admitted pool sets the bar.

No published SAT or ACT floor. Standardized testing is reviewed in context.

Sources and verification

Verified June 15, 2026 by Rory Merritt, MD against 8 official sources. Where a program does not publish something, we say so plainly rather than guess. How we verify.

• med.umn.edu /ba md scholars program
• admissions.tc.umn.edu /bamd scholars program
• admissions.tc.umn.edu /bamd joint admission scholars prog
• admissions.tc.umn.edu /cost attendance
• admissions.tc.umn.edu /cost aid and scholarships
• onestop.umn.edu /tuition
• med.umn.edu /medical school scholarships grants
• give.umn.edu /fast track med school

Knowing the program is the easy part.

Whether it fits the student is the hard part. Tell a former Assistant Dean where things stand and get the one honest next step. Free, no odds, no pitch.

See Where You Stand →Building the program list? The Match, $500 →

See something wrong?

If you are an administrator, a current student, or a family that knows this program from the inside, email rorymerritt@bridge2md.com. We check every correction against the program's official source before we update.

The University of Minnesota BA/MD Scholars Program is narrower than most people assume on two counts: it is open to Minnesota residents only, and it is invitation-only, meaning high-achieving applicants are identified and invited to apply rather than applying on their own. It is a seven-year pathway to both a Bachelor of Arts and a Doctor of Medicine, and it admits roughly ten students a year. This page lays out what it requires, what it does not, and what the University does not publish, so that whether you are the student weighing it or the parent helping, you are working from facts rather than forum rumor.

How the seven years work

This is a seven-year combined program. You begin in the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, complete your undergraduate coursework there, and then matriculate to the University of Minnesota Medical School, earning both a Bachelor of Arts and a Doctor of Medicine. You enter as an incoming freshman straight from high school. The decision about a medical-school seat is made early, before college begins, with the rest of the path conditional on what you do over those undergraduate years.

Who can apply

Two facts narrow this program sharply, and both are easy to miss. First, it is for Minnesota residents only. Out-of-state and international applicants are not eligible, full stop. Second, it is invitation-only. High-achieving applicants are identified and invited to apply rather than applying on their own the way you would for most BS/MD programs. If you are not a Minnesota resident, this is not a program you can pursue, and it is fair to know that before you spend any time on it. If you are a Minnesota resident, the realistic question is how strong an applicant you are to the University overall, because that is what draws the invitation.

What gets an application read, and what does not

The University describes admission as highly competitive and reserved for high-achieving students, but it does not publish a GPA or test-score cutoff for the program. Treat the absence of a number as exactly that: there is no public line to clear, which means strong academics get you considered but do not, on their own, win one of about ten seats.

With a cohort that small and a holistic read, what separates applications is not who looks the most impressive. It is who is the most credible. The program leans toward applicants who contribute to the diversity of the physician workforce, broadly defined, and gives particular attention to students from rural and medically-underserved communities, first-generation college students, and those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. A reviewer reading these is a person there to help, looking for an honest, well-supported story. A claim that does not hold up does more damage here than a modest, true one. The work is to make the true version of your record clear and easy to believe.

Keeping the seat

The guarantee is real, and it is conditional. To matriculate to the Medical School, a scholar must complete the program’s undergraduate requirements, meet the Medical School’s admissions requirements, and have a successful Medical School application and interview. Note what that means in practice: unlike some combined programs, this one does not waive the MCAT. Scholars take it and must meet the Medical School’s requirements, which include it.

What the University does not publish is a specific GPA you must hold or a specific MCAT score you must reach to keep the seat. That does not mean none exists. It means it is not stated openly, so ask the program directly and get the conditions in writing rather than trusting a number you read on a forum.

What the program is built for

The character of this program is worth understanding before you decide it fits. It is anchored in the liberal arts and oriented toward a stated mission: developing physicians committed to meeting the healthcare needs of all Minnesotans. That is not decoration. It shapes who is invited and what the program looks for, with real weight given to students who reflect and intend to serve the communities Minnesota’s healthcare workforce struggles to reach.

That shapes how a credible application reads. The strongest fit is a Minnesota student with a tested reason for choosing medicine and a genuine connection to serving the state, not a resume arranged to look civic-minded. A reviewer can tell the difference, and with ten seats they have every reason to look.

Where this leaves you

This program suits a Minnesota resident who is a strong applicant to the University, who has a tested reason for choosing medicine, and who genuinely intends to serve the state’s communities. The trade is a very early commitment, made before college, in exchange for a combined path to the BA and MD. Be clear-eyed that the MCAT is still required and that the academic conditions to keep the seat are not published, so they are worth pinning down in writing.

It is not an option at all if you live outside Minnesota, and it is not something you pursue cold, since the invitation comes to the applicant rather than the other way around. The honest question, whether you are the student or the parent reading this, is not only whether you can earn the invitation. It is whether the path this program is built for, anchored in service to Minnesota, is genuinely yours. If it is, this is one of the cleaner versions of the combined path. If it is not, it is better to know that now, while saying so costs nothing.