The Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology of the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences offers two pre-medicine academic enhancer programs for candidates interested in applying to medical schools or biomedical sciences Ph.D. programs. Both programs are designed to enhance competitiveness of applications to medical school or to transition to an advanced graduate degree in the biomedical sciences.
Based on their level of readiness for admission in a health professional school, applicants apply to either:
- the Graduate Certificate in Anatomical and Translational Sciences (GCATS), a one-year pre-med program with a total of 19 credit hours
- the Master of Science in Anatomical and Translational Sciences (M-ATS), a two-year pre-med special Master’s program with a total of 39 credit hours
Both academic enhancer programs have a clinically oriented curriculum with a problem-based learning approach that focuses on basic medical sciences taught to first-year medical students. Since the GCATS program constitutes the first year of the M-ATS curriculum, GCATS students with a minimum GPA of 3.0 can submit an application to transfer their 19 credits from GCATS to the M-ATS program.
An MCAT preparatory course is offered in both pre-med programs.
Each program has its own deadline and application process, as detailed on their web pages. All inquiries about the programs should be sent to gcatsmats@gwu.edu.
Option 1: Graduate Certificate Program in Anatomical and Translational Sciences (GCATS)
Spring 2025 | Apply to GCATS |
Summer 2025 | Apply to medical schools |
GCATS Fall 2025 | Interviews |
GCATS Spring 2026 | Interviews | Matriculation into medical schools |
End of Spring 2026 | GCATS Graduation |
Fall 2026 | Medical school begins |
Option 2: Master of Science in Anatomical and Translational Sciences (M-ATS)
Spring 2025 | Apply to M-ATS |
M-ATS Fall 2025 (equivalent of GATS Fall) |
MCAT preparation |
M-ATS Spring 2026 (equivalent of GCATS Spring) |
MCAT Exam |
Summer 2026 | Apply to medical school |
M-ATS Fall 2026 | Medical school interviews |
M-ATS Spring 2027 | Medical school interviews | Matriculation into medical school |
End of Spring 2027 | M-ATS Graduation |
Fall 2027 | Medical school begins |