Clerkships
Year 3 clinical rotations, which begin immediately following the Transitions to Clerkships block, are composed of 36 weeks of core clerkships, and 12 weeks of elective experiences. Students will have ample opportunity to engage in patient care both in inpatient as well as outpatient settings.
Emergency Medicine is a required clerkship during the fourth year of medical school. The four-week experience provides students with an opportunity to apply the clinical knowledge and skills developed during the core clerkships to the evaluation and management of patients presenting with acute, undifferentiated medical and surgical conditions.
Selectives
Critical Care and Core Sub-Internship are required selectives completed in Year 4. Students can pursue specialized Critical Care rotations, including Surgical ICU, Medical ICU, Neonatal ICU, Pediatric ICU, and Cardiac Critical Care. Sub-Internship options are available in Gynecology, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Neurosurgery, Surgery and Surgical Subspecialties.
Electives
The College of Medicine – Phoenix provides more than 200 electives that help meet graduation requirements and support individual interests. Electives are offered across Phoenix-area hospitals, medical centers and private practices. Additional opportunities are available statewide, nationally and internationally through the Visiting Student Learning Opportunities (VLSO) system for MS4 students.
Personal and Professional Development
The Personal and Professional Development course (PPD) spans across years 3 and 4 to prepare students for their upcoming adjacent clerkships, residency preparedness, and career development. Each PPD week includes synchronous and asynchronous sessions along with dedicated focus time for wellness.
Scholarly Project Classes of 2026, 2027 and 2028
The Scholarly Project is a four-year longitudinal experience designed to develop students’ skills in medical information literacy, lifelong learning, research methods, evidence-based medicine, teamwork, effective communication, and ethical inquiry. Students explore these areas in depth while completing an individual, hypothesis-driven research project. This experience provides students with the opportunity to apply scholarly methods, critically evaluate medical information, collaborate effectively, and engage in ethical scholarly inquiry while developing skills that support lifelong learning and evidence-based clinical practice.