Curriculum
American University of the Caribbean’s medical school curriculum consists of 9.5 semesters: 5 semesters of Basic Medical Sciences taught at the St. Maarten campus, and 4.5 semesters of Clinical Sciences taught at affiliated hospitals in the United States and England. Rolling admission begins January, May, and September with semester terms of 16 weeks in duration.
Note: AUC reserves the right to change the curriculum at any time, without prior notice, and to schedule classes or examinations on any day of the week.
Basic Medical Sciences
The first five semesters at AUC involve concentrated study of Basic Medical Sciences. Anatomy, Histology and Molecular/Cell Biology are the focus during the first semester. The following semesters explore a logical sequence of science coursework including advanced courses in Molecular/Cell Biology, Physiology, Pathology and Behavioral Sciences. AUC’s enhanced curriculum introduces students to clinical medicine as early as the second semester with an increasing emphasis in the fifth semester. This allows students to experience the clinical application to the Basic Medical Sciences well before they advance to the clinical aspect of the program.
After completing Basic Medical Sciences, students are required to take the USMLE Step 1. Upon successfully passing the exam, students proceed to Clinical Sciences for their clinical rotations.
Clinical Sciences
During semesters 6-9.5, students undertake clerkships focused on Clinical Sciences for 72 weeks. Clerkships consist of Core Rotation and Elective Rotations at clinical site hospitals. Sites in the United States offer residency programs approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) or are affiliated with a medical school accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME). After completing core clerkships (including core exams), students are eligible to take the USMLE Step 2 and must pass this exam to graduate. Passing Step 2 is also a condition for ECFMG certification, which is the process that international medical graduates must follow to participate in the National Resident Matching Program for postgraduate training. They participate in the same residency match programs as U.S. medical students.
