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Western University of Health Sciences is a proud partner of the nationally recognized program, Summer Health Professions Education Program (SHPEP). Since 1989, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has organized SHPEP to help increase the acceptance rate to health professions graduate programs across the country. In 1993, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) assumed the role of the National Program Office providing direction and technical assistance.

 

 

SHPEP 2022 group photos.

Program Overview

WesternU SHPEP offers an innovative interprofessional approach to its summer residential program through team-based learning of foundational science, interprofessional faculty teaching and learning, health disparities exploration, and healthcare policy education, all centered on the experience of the patient. The primary goal for the WesternU SHPEP team is to strengthen the academic proficiency, clinical commitment, compassion, and enhance the career development of students in the health professions, to prepare them for successful application and matriculation to a health professions program. WesternU SHPEP provides 4 different program tracks: Medicine, Dentistry, Physical Therapy, and Optometry.

WesternU SHPEP Program

The application process opens November 1st and closes February 15th. Applicants who are eligible for the program will be admitted on a rolling basis. Please review the “Eligibility” section to make sure you meet all criteria for the program.

Dates: June 9, 2025 – July 18, 2025

WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOUR APPLICATION

  • Application

    Application Materials to Submit

    Applications will only be reviewed by designated program sites once the National Program Office processes the following materials in accordance with the admissions guidelines:

    1. The online SHPEP application includes one essay prompt (Personal Statement Guidelines). An AAMC account is required to access the application. Register for an AAMC account if you do not already have one.
    2. One official transcript from every U.S., U.S. Territorial, or Canadian post-secondary institution attended sent directly by the institution’s registrar’s office. Please review the Transcript Requirements section for more information.
    3. One letter of recommendation from a qualified reference. Please review the Recommendation Requirements section for more information.

    You can use the optional Application Checklist to ensure that you have completed all of the required steps to apply.

    Once received by the National Program Office, it can take up to 10 business days to process application materials. Please note that each institution has a different processing time for sending transcripts, which could impact the expected delivery time. Applicants should consider each institution’s transcript request processing time and the expected delivery time to Washington, DC, when estimating the total number of days it may take to associate and process transcripts to your application. Applicants are responsible for communicating with their letter writer directly to ensure a letter is submitted in support of their application. As a recommendation from the National Program Office, applicants should ask the letter writer how the letter was submitted.

    All application materials must be postmarked/time stamped by the deadline, February 5th, 2024. Transcripts and letters received with a later postmark date will not be processed. Please note that application materials that were postmarked by the deadline will be processed by the National Program Office, even if those materials arrive after the deadline.

  • WesternU SHPEP Webinar

    The WesternU SHPEP Team hosts a webinar to share information about the program. Students will have an opportunity to learn about the WesternU tracks/professions, curriculum, faculty, and more.

    The webinar takes place annually in January. More details will be shared in Fall 2025.

    For students that are interested in joining us, please register using the following link: WesternU SHPEP Webinar

    Contact US

    MARIA GONZALEZ
    Manager, Pipeline Programming
    *Text or email to set up a meeting time*