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UMKC Rural Medical Post-Baccalaureate Program

Master of Arts in Biology: Rural Medicine Emphasis Track

The state of Missouri is in the highest quintile for health professional shortage areas in the nation. Consequently, there is a critical need to recruit, train and support future health care providers to practice in rural and medically underserved areas of the state and region. This program prepares and trains students with a passion for rural medicine to matriculate to and succeed in medical school, physician assistant, anesthesiologist assistant, and other health care programs. This one-year master’s program is a collaboration between the School of Science and Engineering and School of Medicine. Courses will be taught in person and through remote learning at the UMKC St. Joseph Medical Education Building.

There is a rolling admissions process to start in the Fall, Spring or Summer. 

Application Requirements

  • A baccalaureate degree; Biology or Chemistry (preferred).
  • Undergraduate Cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher (preferred)- if GPA below 3.0 please explain unique circumstances in personal statement.
  • Transcripts required *(unofficial for review, official when enrolling).
  • Completion of courses equivalent to General Biology 1 and 2, General Chemistry 1 and 2, Organic Chemistry 1.
  • Three letters of recommendation from those familiar with the student’s academic and intellectual capabilities are highly recommended. Letters must be written on letterhead and include a signature.
  • A statement of purpose that addresses your motivation to seek a career in the health professions; your passion for healthcare in rural and medically under-resourced areas; experiences that have informed your perspective about rural medicine; unique hardships, challenges or obstacles that may have influenced your educational pursuits; how the program will help you achieve your long-term goals.
  • A current C.V.

Required Courses: Rural Medicine Emphasis Track

A total of 30 credit hours will be required to complete the M.A. degree, with 17 required credit hours and 13 elective credit hours which can be selected throughout Biology, Biomedical Sciences, and Biomedical and Health Informatics courses. Review the program description on UMKC's Academic Catalog for a complete listing of required courses. 

To meet UMKC School of Medicine Undergraduate prerequisite requirements, some students may also need to complete Cell Biology BIOL 202 and Genetics BIOL 206.

Academic Catalog description

Potential Elective Courses

Fall Semester

  • BIOL 5514, Biostatistics
  • BIOL 5517, From Bench to Bedside: Translational Research
  • BIOL 5519, Principles of Evolution
  • BIOL 5525, Bioinformatics and Data Analysis
  • LSMBB 5509, Graduate Developmental Biology
  • MEDB 5511, Principles and Applications of Epidemiology
  • MEDB 5501, Applied Biostatistics
  • MEDB 5521, Intro to Clinical Bioinformatic
  • MEDB 5540, Multi-Disciplinary Seminar
  • MEDB 5550, Health Outcomes Seminar
  • BMS 5541, Independent Study
  • MEDB 5513, Overview of Health Services Research
  • BMS 5591, Independent Research

Spring Semester

  • BIOL 435, Immunology
  • BIOL 5516, Global Health: New and Emerging Infections Disease
  • BIOL 5518, Graduate Histology
  • BIOL 5528, Human Genome Epidemiology
  • BIOL 5540, Pathophysiology
  • BIOL 5542, Neurobiology
  • LSCBB 5504, Graduate Virology
  • MEDB 5510, Clinical Research Methodology
  • MEDB 5512, Clinical Trials
  • MEDB 5513, Overview of Health Services Research
  • MEDB 5514, Human Genome Epidemiology
  • MEDB 5520, Intro to Medical Informatics
  • MEDB 5540, Multi-Disciplinary Seminar
  • MEDB 5550, Health Outcomes Seminar
  • PHARM 5519, Pharmacology I
  • BMS 5541, Independent Study
  • BMS 5591, Independent Research
  • BMS 5513, Field Experience in Disaster Medical Operations

Summer Semester

  • MEDB 5561, Responsible Conduct in Research
  • MEDB 5507, Intro to SAS
  • MEDB 5508, Intro to SQL
  • BMS 5541, Independent Study
  • BMS 5591, Independent Research

Elective policy: if less than 400 level a course would not count toward Master’s degree; Can count 6 credit hours of undergraduate 400+ level but have to get B- or better.

Academic Performance Standards

The following rules apply to students who are pursuing the MA in Biology Rural Medicine Emphasis:

  1. No more than two C grades or one C and one D grade will be permitted in graduate courses. This includes all required and elected courses listed above. If a master’s student exceeds these limits, he or she will be dropped from the program.
  2. A C- grade will count in your GPA but cannot be used toward graduation. The course will either need to be repeated or the graduation requirements must be met by a different course.
  3. If a student receives a D in a course, he/she must repeat that course and obtain a grade of C or higher. No more than one D grade will be permitted.
  4. No F grades are permitted. Any student who receives an F grade will be dropped from the master’s program.
  5. To graduate, students must have a 3.0 overall grade point average. Campus regulations regarding graduate student probation should be consulted.
  6. A limited number of appropriate undergraduate science courses may be counted toward master’s degrees in the Division of Biological & Biomedical Systems. These must be approved. The minimum acceptable grade required for inclusion in an undergraduate course in a Program of Study is B (2.7 grade points).
  7. Students must consult the UMKC catalog so they are familiar with Campus-wide and University-wide regulations pertaining to them.

Program Costs

To learn more about the tuition rates and fees associated with this program, visit the Cashier's website.

Scholarship Funding

Scholarship funding is currently available through a HRSA grant awarded to UMKC for individuals applying to medical school who plan to practice medicine in a rural area. Please contact us for more information. Students who accept HRSA scholarship funding for tuition and fees, must meet these requirements to continue receiving funding. 

Funding Requirements

  • Shadowing requirement — Shadowing at rural clinical affiliates- at least 25 hours per fall and spring semester if full time student (15 credit hours or more). Requirement is proportional to enrollment credit hour number (ex: if enrolled in 5 credit hours would be 33%) 
  • MCAT Training (Optional if MCAT above 507) — MCAT training (Self-Paced through Princeton Review-AHEC). Must be enrolled in a review course or independent MCAT study or have received an MCAT score greater than 507.  
  • Capstone — Demonstrated work toward a research/scholarly project and poster presentation at the Post-Bac Capstone day. 
  • Good standing — Program GPA must be greater than 3.2 after each semester. 

Have Questions?

Please call 816-235-6069 or email Michael Wacker, Senior Associate Dean and Professor.