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How to Apply to PURCH or LEAD@Lahey:

Application to the Population Urban and Rural Community Health (PURCH) pathway at UMass Chan Medical School – Baystate or the LEAD@Lahey (LEAD = lead, empower, advocate, deliver) track is made through the secondary application process. All applicants must select whether or not they wish to apply to PURCH or LEAD@Lahey.

Be sure to review our application process for additional details.

Interview Process:

Those applying to PURCH or LEAD@Lahey will be reviewed for both PURCH or LEAD@Lahey and the traditional MD program. MD/PhD applicants may also choose to be considered for PURCH.

If you are invited to interview, you will participate in a two-day virtual interview process that involves a multiple mini interview (MMI) with members of the main campus in Worcester and another multiple mini interview (MMI) with members of our regional campuses in Springfield, UMass Chan Medical School-Baystate or Lahey Hospital and Medical Center-Burlington. MD/PhD applicants interviewing for PURCH will have a third, traditional style interview at our main campus in Worcester with the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences as well.

Selection Process:

There are approximately 25 spots available in PURCH and LEAD@Lahey each admissions cycle.

For your PURCH or LEAD@Lahey application to move forward you must perform satisfactorily in the MMI at both campuses (and the traditional interview if MD/PhD). You will then have ten days to decide if you want to proceed as a PURCH or LEAD@Lahey candidate or opt out and into your degree program of choice only.

Acceptance to PURCH or LEAD@Lahey is a joint acceptance between your degree program (MD or MD/PhD) and the PURCH or LEAD@Lahey track.

If you are not accepted into PURCH or LEAD@Lahey, you will still be considered for the traditional MD program. The same is true for MD/PhD applicants applying to PURCH.

PURCH and LEAD@Lahey Policies

Be sure to review the policies below on opting in or out of PURCH or LEAD@Lahey before applying.

Please direct your questions about PURCH or LEAD@Lahey to the T.H. Chan School of Medicine's Office of Admissions at admissions@umassmed.edu or 508-856-2323.

Interested applicants are able to opt-in to the PURCH or LEAD@Lahey track even if they have already submitted their application. Applicants who applied to the PURCH or LEAD@Lahey track during the secondary application and wish to opt-out can do so, if they choose. Details on how to opt-in or opt-out of the PURCH or LEAD@Lahey track are outlined below.

Opting-in to the PURCH or LEAD@Lahey track:

Opting in prior to matriculation

The PURCH and LEAD@Lahey tracks are part of the Vista curriculum in the T.H. Chan School of Medicine at UMass Chan. Hence, there is only one offer of acceptance to the T.H. Chan School of Medicine. Applicants wishing to enroll in the PURCH or LEAD@Lahey track will have two interview days: one with the main campus, based in Worcester, and one with the corresponding regional campus. An applicant who accepts an offer of admission to the PURCH or LEAD@Lahey track will matriculate into that track unless a request to opt out is granted (see below).

An applicant may choose to apply to the PURCH or LEAD@Lahey track after applying to the T.H. Chan School of Medicine. The applicant must email the Office of Admissions at admissions@umassmed.edu to update their secondary application to reflect their interest in applying to PURCH or LEAD@Lahey, and then submit required secondary application materials.

Opting-in after matriculation

An accepted applicant who did not apply to the PURCH or LEAD@Lahey track and has matriculated into the T.H. Chan School of Medicine as an MD or MD/PhD student may apply to join the PURCH or LEAD@Lahey track. The reasons for the request must be made via email to the associate dean for student affairs by the end of the first week of the academic year.

The decision about whether to approve an application for a track after matriculation will be based on several factors including the capacity of a given track to accept additional students.

Part of the decision process depends on the capacity of the PURCH Track to accept more students. The process for approval for transfer to PURCH is as follows:

The process for approval for transfer into the PURCH or LEAD@Lahey track is as follows:

The student submits a request via email to the associate dean for student affairs by the end of the first week of the academic year.
The student’s Learning Community mentor emails the associate dean for student affairs indicating that they have discussed the request with the student and that they support or do not support the request.
The associate dean for student affairs presents the student’s request to a committee composed of the:

Associate dean for student affairs
Director of student affairs at UMass Chan-Baystate or UMass Chan-Lahey
Learning Communities co-director
Assistant dean for student affairs/advising
Associate dean for admissions at UMass Chan
Assistant dean for admissions at UMass Chan-Baystate or UMass Chan-Lahey
Assistant dean for clinical curriculum

Collectively, this group comprises an ad hoc committee to respond to requests to opt in or out of the PURCH or LEAD@Lahey tracks. The student’s written request and the Learning Community mentor’s email of support or opposition are provided to the ad hoc committee.

1. If the committee approves the request, the decision is brought to the Associate Dean for Student Affairs for distribution.

Opting-out of the PURCH or LEAD@LaheyTrack:

Applicants may opt out of the PURCH or LEAD@Lahey track through the following process.

Opting out prior to matriculation:

An applicant who has not yet been accepted to the T.H. Chan School of Medicine may elect to opt out of the PURCH or LEAD@Lahey track after admissions interviews are complete by emailing the Office of Admissions at admissions@umassmed.edu to request this change in application status within seven days of their PURCH or LEAD@Lahey track interview. The applicant must state the reason(s) for the request.

An applicant who has been admitted to the PURCH or LEAD@Lahey track may later request to opt out of the track prior to matriculation and remain in the T.H. Chan School of Medicine. The applicant must make the request, including the reason(s) for the request, by email to the Office of Admissions at admissions@umassmed.edu. Decisions to grant such a request will be made after consulting with admissions subcommittees at UMass Chan’s regional campuses and will be informed by capacity.

Opting out after matriculation:

A student who has matriculated as a PURCH or LEAD@Lahey track student may request to opt out of the track and remain a student in the T.H. Chan School of Medicine. The reason(s) for the request must be made via email to the associate dean for student affairs by the end of the first week of the academic year. Decisions to grant such a request will be made after consulting with admissions subcommittees at UMass Chan’s regional campuses.

Timing of Transfers In and Out of PURCH and LEAD@Lahey:

The PURCH and LEAD@Lahey tracks are longitudinal experiences with integrated threads in the curriculum that are specific to the track. Additionally, students in the PURCH or LEAD@Lahey track develop long-term mentoring and career development relationships with their Learning Community mentors. As such, requests to transfer in or out of a track must be thoughtfully considered and articulated with clear reasoning. These requests will only be entertained at specific times during the curriculum to facilitate student progress and ensure student success.

Opting in or out of the PURCH or LEAD@Lahey tracks is not permitted in the Horizons phase.

Note:

At all transition points, students must articulate a clear reason for requesting the change.
Entry to/exit from the PURCH or LEAD@Lahey cannot be related to mentor issues.
Life-changing events may prompt a student to opt in or out of a track at a point other than those mentioned above and will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Process for Transfer:

If the request for a transfer into or out of the PURCH or LEAD@Lahey track is granted, the associate dean for student affairs will notify the following people and offices to initiate the transition process:

The student
Office of the Registrar
Office of Undergraduate Medical Education
Assistant dean for clinical curriculum
Director of early clinical learning at UMass Chan-Baystate or UMass Chan-Lahey
Learning Communities co-director
Associate dean at UMass Chan-Baystate or UMass Chan-Lahey
Vice provost and senior associate dean for educational affairs

	Timing	Rationale	Notes
Entering PURCH OR LEAD@Lahey (“opt-in”)	DISCOVERY: First semester, by the end of the first week	Early Clinical Learning (ECL) has not been firmly established so curricula remain similar.	Later in the year the student will have a relationship with their mentor; ECL curricula will be out of sync so students may review a topic twice or miss a topic.
	DISCOVERY: Second semester, by the end of the first week		Transfer at this time will only be considered in extraordinary circumstances and with unanimous approval of the committee. Curricula will be out of sync, mentoring and LPP programs disrupted; if the choice is made to allow this timing, the request must address those issues. Make-up work may be required; redundancy should be expected by the student.
	DISCOVERY: Summer before 2^nd year or by the end of the first week of the 3^rd semester	Curricula will align	The student must change mentor and will have missed some PURCH OR LEAD@Lahey-specific sessions. Make-up work may be required; redundancy should be expected by the student.
	Exploration and Horizons: not permitted		Student will have missed the majority of the PURCH OR LEAD@Lahey curriculum
Leaving PURCH OR LEAD@Lahey (“opt-out”)	DISCOVERY: First semester, by the end of the first week	Students will not have made a mentor relationship or be deeply engaged in track specific curricula yet
	DISCOVERY: Second semester, by the end of the first week	Transfer at this time will only be considered in extraordinary circumstances and with unanimous approval of the committee.	Later in the year curricula will be off cycle for ECL; if a student switched later in the year they would keep LPP at PURCH OR LEAD@Lahey for the remainder of the year
	DISCOVERY: Summer before the 3^rd semester or by the end of the first week of the 3^rdsemester	Limited impact on curriculum
	Exploration/Horizons	Permitted, but students would complete rotations and courses as previously assigned at their former regional campus	Any site change requests would follow the usual Office of Student Affairs process

Revised December 2023