Academic Resources
Educational Affairs Offices and Contacts
Office of Educational Affairs
We strive to create a contemporary model of medical education with the goal to graduate the most compassionate and competent clinicians possible.
Through a carefully designed curriculum, a blend of instructional methods, and the use of educational technologies, these “master clinicians” are taught to deliver outstanding care to their patients, trained to advance the science and practice of medicine, and educated to direct their learning throughout their professional careers.
Through these efforts, we have achieved high accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), the nationally recognized accrediting authority for medical education programs leading to the MD degree, and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), the nationally recognized accrediting authority for post-MD medical training programs within the United States.
Our work has made us a national leader in the pursuit of scientific investigation and the development of programs to advance medical and scientific knowledge.
By contributing to the education of tomorrow’s health professionals, we hope to ultimately improve the health of the public and advance the practice of medicine.
Continuing Education
The College of Medicine is accredited with the highest level of recognition by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education. The Office of Continuing Education works to extend the academic expertise of the organization’s clinical and basic sciences, as well as professional skills in leadership, teaching and research. The office’s portfolio comprises content that assists physicians and other health care professionals to continue lifelong learning with the goal of improving patient outcomes.
Evaluation and Assessment
The Office of Evaluation and Assessment (OEA) oversees all testing and assessment activities for undergraduate medical education, including development, IT infrastructure, proctoring and support. OEA facilitates and tracks assessment of medical school competencies, sub-competencies and milestones, and work with the University Park curriculum to comparable learner outcomes. The office oversees program evaluation data collection.
Global Health
The Office of Global Health offers a unique four-year curriculum, known as the Global Health & Health Equity Pathway, designed for first-year medical students passionate about community health interventions and research with underserved populations, both locally and internationally. Throughout the program, students engage in two-month-long service learning experiences in domestic or international settings to gain practical experience in the field.
Graduate Medical Education
The Office of Graduate Medical Education oversees the 73 ACGME-accredited residency and fellowship programs within Penn State Health and supports their program directors, program coordinators, clinical chairs and trainees. The office serves as the central location for information, services and support related to trainee employment and serves as the personnel office for trainees.
Harrell Health Sciences Library
The Harrell Health Sciences Library is central to the provision of biomedical information resources and expertise in support of the education, research, patient care and community outreach missions. Resources include 24/7 access to the library space; dedicated quiet study area; small group study rooms; printing, scanning and copying; Technology Sandbox and One Button Studio; access to all Penn State University Libraries resources.
Office of Health Systems Science
The Health Systems Science (HSS) office is a vital link between the missions of Penn State College of Medicine and Penn State Health. The organizations' vision is to become a recognized leader in using HSS to power healthcare delivery so that all may “master and design rather than cope with and fight systems in which we care for patients.”
Program on Human Structure
The Education Program on Human Structure is responsible for everything relating to anatomy education, willed-body donation, the anatomy lab, and ultrasound education for the medical, physician assistant, and graduate students. Penn State anatomy graduate students and faculty are an integral part of Human Structures and are involved in teaching students of all levels.
Medical Education
The Office of Medical Education oversees the creation of curricular content and provides digital resources to enhance teaching for faculty and learning for students. Additionally, the team carefully evaluates educational outcomes through an assessment program. Financial and administrative oversight, as well as education research resources, ensure academic programs receive strong support.
Medical Student Admissions
The Office of Medical Student Admissions oversees the application process of approximately 11,000 applicants. About 800 are granted a personal interview out of 8,500 screened. There are 5 subcommittees that review all application components, making offers of admission for entering class of about 152 medical students. The office runs other special programs, communicates with applicants and maintains informational resources.
Medical Student Research
The Medical Student Research (MSR) program gives each medical student an opportunity to participate in mentored medical research. Students gain an understanding of the research process, limitations and variability of data, and an application of research to clinical practice. Projects may be in the clinical, social or basic medical sciences and may be conducted on campus or at off-campus sites, nationally or internationally.
PA Program
The PA Program Office provides support to currently enrolled students in the didactic and clinical years of the PA program, aides prospective students through their admission and enrollment to the program, and remains a resource for program alumni. Members include administrative support, an admissions specialist, data analyst and accreditation manager, clinical coordinators, faculty, the medical director, and the program director.
Professional Mental Health
The Office for Professional Mental Health (PMH) provides personal counseling and mental health support services for students, medical residents and fellows, physicians and faculty. The PMH office offers crisis consultation, individual counseling and psychiatric consultation for students. Crisis services and brief treatment are available to residents, fellows, physicians and faculty. The PMH staff is available to support personal and academic success.
Office of Registrar
Office of Registrar provides a range of services for medical, physician assistant and graduate students at the medical school in the areas of student status, registration, enrollment verification, scheduling clerkships and electives, scheduling of visiting students, grades and transcripts, USMLE registration, and degree verification for medical licensing.
Student Aid and Finance
The Finance Shared Services Team for Educational Affairs oversees the purchasing and budget oversight for Undergraduate Medical Education. Additionally, the team oversees the processing of purchase orders, contracts, reimbursements and all other related finance activities for all the offices under Educational Affairs. Requests and inquiries can be sent to the MEDEDpurch@pennstatehealth.psu.edu inbox for assistance.
Student Affairs
The Office of Student Affairs serves to empower our learners to reach their fullest potential in all aspects of their curricular and co-curricular engagements.
Woodward Center
The mission of the Woodward Center for Excellence in Health Sciences Education is to cultivate excellence in health sciences education. The Woodward Center offers a variety of programs designed to improve health sciences education and recognize great educators. The center sponsors EdVenture, the College of Medicine’s annual celebration of Teaching and Learning.