Leadership in Medicine
For any admissions questions, please contact admissions@union.edu. You may also refer to the Union College Admissions page.
ACADEMIC FAQs
Q. How is the LIM curriculum structured?
A. Please refer to our Program Overview page.
Q. What major field of study may I choose?
A. Please refer to our Program Overview page.
Q. Are there specific science courses that I must take?
A. Please refer to the Program Overview page.
Q. Must I do a thesis or senior writing project?
A. All students must complete a thesis or senior writing seminar in their humanities major. This is designed to build the foundation needed in writing and research to pursue advanced work as an Albany Medical College Student.
Q. What role does AP credit play in choosing courses and requirements?
A. Many of the students enrolled in the Leadership in Medicine Program bring excellent results on Advanced Placement work to Union. Students with scores of 4 or 5 on the AP examinations in biology, chemistry or physics or on either of the AP Calculus exams are encouraged to take more advanced courses at the College. Other AP courses will be considered such as Statistics or a course in your second major. Advanced Placement courses do not reduce the total number of courses required in the LIM Program.
Q. Are there class restrictions or additional course benefits for LIM students?
A. LIM students may take a 4th undergraduate course for free each term excluding summers, but these additional courses cannot count toward early graduation or time off. LIM students must be enrolled as full-time students (a minimum of three courses per trimester combined undergraduate and graduate courses ) for all 4 academic calendar years. LIM students may only elect to take one undergraduate non-science, non-practicum course Pass/Fail over four years and it cannot be a required course or one that is in one of your declared ID major departments. The course must be approved by your advisor and indicated in your course plan.
A student in good standing may audit a course if the instructor gives permission. An audit is not recorded on the student’s permanent record.
LIM students may take science or math courses pass/fail as long as the course is not being taken for LIM Program requirements or for the major and will not prevent timely completion of science and math program requirements of the major. Students must have the approval from the LIM Director prior to registering for a pass/fail science or math course. This policy is only open to LIM seniors. Students will declare a course as pass/fail at the time of registration and may not declare pass/fail after the course has started. Courses declared pass/fail may not later be changed to a graded course.
Consistent with the college's pass/fail policy, the following also applies:
- A student may take no more than two pass/fail science courses during the senior year.
- Independent study courses and those taken on a Term Abroad, may not be taken Pass/Fail.
- A grade of “pass” will be equivalent to the lowest passing grade or better.
Q. Do two or three term practicums count for course credit in the LIM Program?
A. LIM students may not use multi-term practicum experiences for elective credit within the core LIM requirements. The core LIM requirements include 16 or 17 math/science courses and 13 humanities/social science courses.
Generally, Union College counts multi-term practicums for pass/fail course credit. LIM students may participate in practicum experiences that lead to course credit keeping in mind this would be additional coursework beyond the core LIM requirements.
Q. Who will serve as my academic advisor?
Dr. Brandy Eggan, Director of the Leadership in Medicine Program, serves as academic advisor.
Once a LIM student decides on their academic fields of interest, they complete the declaration of major form from the registrar’s office, which specifies academic advisors in each of the ID majors. The LIM Director is the primary contact for any questions related to program requirements.
Students can schedule appointments directly with Brandy Eggan by emailing LIM@union.edu. The Leadership in Medicine office is located in Olin 110A.
Program GPA and Experience Requirements
Q. What GPA is required to remain in good standing in the Program?
A. Since LIM students are dually enrolled as undergraduates at Union College and graduate students at Clarkson University, they must adhere to specific standards of each participating college. Students must maintain a minimum cumulative 3.50 grade point average overall and in their math/science courses and annually. Only the 4 cross-listed Clarkson-Union courses will be calculated into the Union College GPA.
Grades of a “C” or lower may result in program dismissal.
Required course work may not be taken on a pass/fail basis and must normally be taken at the home institution.
Grades of “I” (Incomplete) or “W” (withdrawal) will not be acceptable without justification involving illness or extenuating circumstances and prior approval by the Dean of Studies.
Q. What happens if your grades fall below the minimum requirement?
A. ach LIM student’s progress is evaluated by the Policy & Promotions (P&P) Committee, which consists of faculty and staff from Union College, Clarkson University, and Albany Medical College and meets after each trimester.
If a student’s cumulative overall or math/science GPA falls below 3.50 for the first time, the committee may place the student on probation and give a particular time frame to rectify the situation; however, the committee may vote for immediate dismissal if the student’s chances for recovery by the next P & P meeting seem unlikely. If the decision is made to dismiss a student from the program, s/he may withdraw before the dismissal is final.
Students who leave the program are fully supported in their plans to pursue medical school via the traditional pathway should they choose to do so. Union's Health Professions office works closely with students who wish to pursue careers in clinical medicine.
See Leadership in Medicine Program Policy and Promotions PROBATION, DISMISSAL and APPEAL Guidelines for additional information.
Q. Are grades the only reason a student may be placed on probation?
A. Leadership in Medicine students are expected to distinguish themselves beyond the classroom through leadership, research, clinical experience, and community outreach and to keep a careful and accurate record of these experiences. Students should complete a minimum of 400 combined experience hours by December of the senior year. Two hundred of the 400 hours must be in a clinical setting. Most students complete more hours than required.
All institutional actions, academic or non-academic will result in automatic probation or dismissal from the program following review by the P&P Committee. Conduct unbecoming of an aspiring physician will also be reported and reviewed by the P&P Committee and may result in probation or dismissal.
See Leadership in Medicine Program Policy and Promotions PROBATION, DISMISSAL and APPEAL Guidelines for additional information.
Q. What is the Sophomore Portfolio?
A. The Policy and Promotions Committee assesses a student’s leadership and their personal and professional development through a portfolio that students begin working on when they enter the program their first year. The portfolio documents all extracurricular activities in an on-line format and it is submitted for initial review at the end of spring term of the sophomore year. If a student’s portfolio is considered inadequate and lacking in a particular area (i.e., community service, leadership, clinical experience), the student will be informed of any deficiencies. The student may be asked to submit an addendum to the portfolio for committee review. A student whose professional or ethical preparation is substantially behind may be dismissed from the program.
Students submit a senior portfolio for final promotion to the medical college by completing the AMCAS, the centralized application required by most medical schools.
Q. How do LIM students satisfy the term abroad/international experience requirement?
A. Please refer to our International Experience Requirement page.
Q. What is tuition for the graduate degree?
A. There is no tuition due for the MS degree as Union College LIM undergraduate tuition includes the cost of 12 MS courses. That means the MS in Clinical Leadership in Healthcare Management students pay no extra tuition for their degree.
For the 14-course MBA in Healthcare Management program, LIM students pay Clarkson directly for two additional classes in Spring term of senior year. LIM MBA students are charged a flat rate equaling the per credit hour cost at Clarkson University for the two additional courses. Please contact a Clarkson Graduate Student Service Representative at sasgrad@clarkson.edu for the current tuition or additional information.
The Graduate Degree
Q. How do I decide between the MS and the MBA?
A. Please refer to our Comparison of M.S. and MBA Curricula page.
Q. What is the difference between the MS and the MBA schedules in terms of classes and time?
A. Please refer to our Comparison of M.S. and MBA Curricula page.
