Skip to main content
Indiana University School of Medicine
Indiana University School of Medicine
West Lafayette Campus
The MD program on the West Lafayette campus offers small class sizes and local opportunities for summer research and clinical experience.

MD Education

While the core MD curriculum of IU School of Medicine is the same across all nine statewide campuses, the West Lafayette campus offers some special attributes, including small class sizes, a high level of personal attention from tenured and award-winning faculty, and local opportunities for summer research and clinical experience. Enrichment programs include a summer program that focuses on Emergency Room experience.

Learning experiences extend the classroom beyond enriching lectures and laboratories. Small-group discussions, case-based problem learning, team-based learning, clinical mentorships, service-learning projects and clinical experiences are used to help students gain fundamental medical knowledge and develop lifelong skills. Many optional inter-professional education scenarios with various groups, including Purdue University Pharmacy and Nursing, are available to medical students, and the opportunity to earn dual degrees—such as MD/PhD, MD/MPH, MD/MBA and MD/MS—while attending IU School of Medicine-West Lafayette is also available.

This IU School of Medicine campus enjoys close proximity to two new hospitals: Franciscan Health Lafayette East Health and IU Health Arnett, and medical students here benefit from working at River Bend, an in-patient mental health facility and other reputable clinical care facilities. The clinical education portion of the IU School of Medicine MD curriculum, including third- and fourth-year clerkships and electives in Greater Lafayette are held at these patient care facilities.

Student Policies

Medical students at all IU School of Medicine campuses must adhere to the policies and standards established by the university and school.

MD Enrichment Programs in West Lafayette

After students complete the first year of medical school, they can participate in this program during the summer. When the hosting physician is on duty, the student is, too! This paid eight-week experience is available for several students in local emergency rooms.

Through a partnership with Purdue University, medical students in West Lafayette who are interested in pursuing a combined degree—such as MD/PhD, MD/MPH, MD/MBA and MD/MS—while attending IU School of Medicine-West Lafayette can adjust the traditional course of the MD program to earn the second degree alongside the MD. Admission in the dual degree program requires admission to both schools.

In this Scholarly Concentration, medical students develop their understanding and application of biomedical engineering for the ethical design, development and translation of medical and related technologies. Students have opportunities to understand and advance design and translation of medical and related technologies into clinical settings through completion of a scholarly project. This concentration is a partnership with Purdue’s Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering.

With numerous Hispanic and Latino patients in the United States, the need for culturally-sensitive medical care is vital. This Scholarly Concentration prepares students to meet this need by providing opportunities to:

  • Understand and apply culturally appropriate medical care
  • Improve Spanish-speaking fluency
  • Use Spanish in a clinical setting
  • Improve medical care for Hispanic/Latino populations