and McLaren announced they were strengthening their partnership and that a new $450 million hospital would be built near MSU's East Lansing campus. Academics The college offers the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) degree, as well as dual degrees (DO-PhD and DO-MBA). Applicant selection is made from a competitive applicant pool and depends on many aspects of the applicant such as GPA, MCAT, maturity, community service and life experiences. Among admitted students, the average GPA is 3.5–3.7 and the average MCAT score is 506–508. Medical Curriculum MSUCOM's curriculum consists of pre-clerkship years that run for seven semesters. The first portion consists of introductory basic science, including: anatomy, biochemistry, genetics, physiology, etc. During this time, students also learn physical examination, doctor-patient interactions, and the principles of osteopathic palpatory diagnosis and manipulative therapy. After learning the biological foundations, the curriculum shifts to a body system focus where the integumentary, neuro-musculoskeletal, hematopoietic, cardiovascular, respiratory, urinary, gastrointestinal, endocrine, and reproductive systems are detailed. Throughout the entire sequence, courses in Patient Care and Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine are incorporated. After the first two years, the students are assigned a base hospital and begin their clerkship years where they rotate through family medicine, internal medicine, OBGYN, general surgery, psychiatry, etc. DO-PhD Program MSUCOM's DO-PhD Physician Scientist Training Program, the first of its kind in the nation, was founded by Dr. Veronica Maher and Dr. Justin McCormick in 1979. The eight-year program is not organized in the traditional 2-4-2 MD-PhD arrangement, but starts with the first year of graduate coursework. This arrangement allows for more integration between the graduate research and medical school education. Most DO-PhD students complete PhDs through the BioMolecular Science program which includes: biochemistry, cell and molecular biology, genetics, microbiology, pharmacology & toxicology, and physiology. However, there are graduate students in neuroscience, epidemiology, anthropology, and sociology. The alumni of the program have entered many prestigious residency programs and most graduates find careers in medical colleges, universities, or major medical research centers. Pre-Clerkship Training Sites The College of Osteopathic Medicine conducts pre-clinical training at three sites: East Lansing, Detroit and Macomb. MSUCOM's primary campus is in East Lansing on the main Michigan State University campus. The Detroit satellite campus is situated on the campus of the Detroit Medical Center (DMC). The Macomb satellite campus, the most recent to be added, is located at Macomb University Center within Macomb Community College. Statewide Campus System Clinical training for