GUMC and GMU Announce Joint Educational Initiative
Georgetown University Medical Center and George Mason University announced a new joint educational initiative, "George Squared," on Friday, September 4 on GMU's Fairfax Campus. The program, scheduled to launch in Fall 2010, provides students at both schools with access to two new education options — a Certificate for Advanced Biomedical Science and the Special Master’s Program. Georgetown's Special Master's Program, which prepares students for medical school, is ranked No. 1 in the country for programs of its type.
Howard Federoff, executive vice president for health sciences and executive dean of the School of Medicine at Georgetown, signed the Memorandum of Understanding with Peter Stearns, GMU's provost; and Maurice Scherrens, senior vice president at GMU. Federoff, Stearns and Vikas Chandhoke, dean of GMU's College of Science, made remarks and were joined by leadership and faculty from both schools.
“We are pleased to launch this collaboration with George Mason University and think that the diverse offering of high quality educational programs will serve students well,” Federoff said.
The 24-credit Joint Certificate for Advanced Biomedical Science and the 40-credit Special Master’s Program will prepare up to 60 students for careers in the biological, biochemical and medical biosciences industries, as well as for application to pre-medical programs and medical school. Students will receive a joint certificate from both schools following their completion of the program.
Through a wide range of science courses such as anatomy, biochemistry, human physiology, medical microbiology and molecular biology, George Squared will give students a solid foundation in the life sciences as well as the technical skills needed to enter the workforce. Classes will be conducted at GMU's Prince William Campus in Manassas but will be taught by faculty members from GMU and Georgetown.
The new initiative brings together the expertise of Georgetown’s Special Master’s Program and the potential of Mason’s growing Prince William Campus, which is dedicated solely to the biomedical sciences. The partnership will allow both institutions to help meet the growing demand identified by the Association of American Medical Colleges for specialists in these fields during the next two decades.
By Andrew Hipolit, GUMC Communications, excerpted from the GUMC Update
(Photo by Evan Cantwell, George Mason University)
