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Indiana University School of Medicine
Indiana University School of Medicine
MD Education Program
Scholarly concentrations complement the core MD curriculum and empower students to develop expertise in a specific area of medicine.

Scholarly Concentrations Program

The Scholarly Concentrations Program is an optional experience that takes place alongside and complements the core medical school curriculum. It empowers students to delve into topics of personal interest such as urban medicine and health care disparities, business of medicine, public health, quality and innovation in health care and more.

Students learn through topic-specific courses, complete a scholarly project, and produce a manuscript they submit for publication along with a poster for presentation at IU School of Medicine Education Day. Students benefit from the school’s statewide network of experts and resources, receive unique mentorship opportunities, develop skills, and complete scholarly work, all elements of their medical education that are valuable for residency applications and professional development.

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Expanding on the Core Curriculum

Scholarly concentrations allow students with diverse interests to choose an area of emphasis that is important to them during medical school.

Concentration Benefits

Scholarly concentrations are a fantastic way for MD students to customize their education and engage in experiences that lead to multidisciplinary scholarship, research and community engagement. Graduating IU School of Medicine students report a strong interest in their scholarly concentrations during residency interviews. Unlike traditional academic certificates and degrees, scholarly concentrations do not add time or costs to completing an MD degree.

Students who successfully complete the requirements for a scholarly concentration earn eight weeks of non-clinical elective credit toward graduation, a scholarly concentration designation that appears on their transcript, and are recognized at graduation. This designation is suitable for their curriculum vitae and other professional documentation.

Annual Report

Read the 2023-2024 Scholarly Concentrations Annual Report to see highlights of students' work over the last year.

cover of the 2024 annual report

Download the Annual Report

Focused areas of study

IU School of Medicine offers a wide range of scholarly concentration topics that leverage expertise at each of its nine campuses. Individuals applying to medical school at IU School of Medicine are encouraged to preference regional campuses that host scholarly concentrations through the early decision program.

Map of indiana shows locations of scholarly concentrations around the state. Bloomington: human sexuality and health, medical education. Evansville: Quality and innovation in health care. Fort Wayne: Health Care Integration and Healthy Aging. Indianapolis: Biomedical research, genetics in medicine, and medical humanities. Muncie: Health promotion and disease prevention. Gary: Urban medicine and health care disparities. South Bend: Ethics, Equity and Justice. Terre Haute: rural health. West Lafayette: Biomedical engineering and applied medical technology, care of hispanic/latino patients. Statewide: Business of medicine, public health, religion and spirituality in medicine.

Explore each concentration

Biomedical Engineering and Applied Medical Technology

Biomedical Research

Business of Medicine

Care of Hispanic/Latino Patients

Ethics, Equity, and Justice

Genetics in Medicine

Health Care Integration and Healthy Aging

Health Promotion and Disease Prevention

Human Sexuality and Health

Medical Education

Medical Humanities

Public Health

Quality and Innovation in Health Care

Religion and Spirituality

Rural Health

Urban Medicine and Health Care Disparities

Curriculum

All concentrations share the same core curriculum requirements:

  • An introductory course on the fundamentals of research and scholarship (online)
  • The scholarly concentration project, based on the topic and student interest
  • The scholarly concentration product, a manuscript submitted for publication. Publication is not required.
  • Concentration-specific courses and experiences

Participants are also required to present a poster at an IU School of Medicine Education Day.

Concentrations have required or recommended pathways for completion that fit well with the medical school curriculum and calendar. Typically, students begin their concentration during the first year of medical school or the summer between the first and second year and continue into the fourth. See the individual concentration descriptions below to learn more and decide if a concentration is right for you.

Example student journey shows a typical pathway in a scholarly concentration, although they may vary for each student. In Phase 1 Year 1, students complete a topic specific course. During summer beak, a second topic specific course is completed along with Fundamentals of Research and Scholarship. The student also begins their project in the summer, and work will continue until the end of Phase 3. In Phase 1 year 2, the student completes the third topic specific course. In Phase 3, the student completes their product and presents at Education Day.

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Deeb Omari

Pediatrics resident, McGraw Medical Center of Northwestern University

Urban Medicine and Health Care Disparities Scholarly Concentration graduate

Joseph Cooper

MS3, Genetics in Medicine

"I have had a great experience working with [my mentor], and we are well on our way to completing a great research project [on perceptions of pharmacogenomics among low-income residents of central Indiana]. I have presented at two conferences [already]. I have also submitted an abstract to the 2024 ACMG conference in Toronto [the major society for medical genetics]... the next step is selecting a journal to write for and beginning work on our manuscript."

Michael Weber

Psychiatry resident, IU School of Medicine

Health Care Integration and Healthy Aging Scholarly Concentration graduate

“I’m interested in the physical, emotional, and psychological changes that occur as people age and how health care systems might improve to optimize well-being throughout the stages of life. Participating in this scholarly concentration will help me become a better member of an interprofessional health care team, as well as gain a stronger understanding of the unique needs of an aging population.”

Michael Weber

Tari Kurman

Pediatrics resident, Colorado School of Medicine

Human Sexuality and Health Scholarly Concentration graduate

"I think the scholarly concentration will make me a better physician regardless of what field I go into, because I believe the clinical practices we use to improve health care for LGBTQ+ patients can be applied to improve health care for all patients."

Read what current students, graduates, and mentors have to say
Tari Kurman

Frequently Asked Questions

No. Scholarly concentrations is an optional program that’s available to medical students at IU School of Medicine.

Currently enrolled IU School of Medicine MD students can apply to the scholarly concentrations program during the Fall term, Dec. 6, 2024 to Jan. 5, 2025. Some regional campus concentration recruit students upon matriculation. Applicants to IU School of Medicine are encouraged to preference campuses that have scholarly concentrations in which they’re interested. They'll have a chance to apply after matriculation in 2025. 

No. Concentrations are completed within the traditional four-year medical curriculum. Students typically begin the summer between their first and second years of medical school or during their first year. After that, the program is longitudinal and occurs alongside your core medical education.

No. There are no additional fees or tuition associated with completing a concentration.

No. In order to have a robust experience, students may only participate in one concentration. 

The scholarly concentrations in Public Health and Business of Medicine can lead to a master’s in public health and MBA, respectively as those programs will count scholarly concentration work toward the dual degree. Students in dual degree programs must still fulfill all scholarly concentration requirements in order to receive IU School of Medicine non-clinical elective credit and the Scholarly Concentrations Program designation. For information about the MD-MPH program, contact program director Bill Tierney, MD. For MD-MBA program information, contact Janelle Cissell, associate director, Graduate Emerging Programs and Graduate Certificate in Medical Management Program, Kelly School of Business, at cissellj@iu.edu or (317) 274-6280.