Accelerated Pathways to MUSC

Medicine

• Intent to Participate form needs to be completed by the beginning of the second semester of your second year (January 30).
• Clemson students must take the Medical College Admissions Test — MCAT — prior to June 30 following completion of the sophomore year (for Early Decision applicants) or prior to July 30 following their sophomore year (for Regular Admission applicants). The current minimum score accepted by MUSC on the MCAT is 508 (which may change annually, but the standard is that the score falls in the top quartile).
• Student’s unadjusted GPA at the time of application to medical school must be greater than 3.5.
• Pathway students must complete 90 semester hours prior to admission to MUSC. The 90 semester hours of undergraduate education may include up to 30 of the semester hours from another institution prior to admission to Clemson. The final 60 semester hours, and at least two of the three years of preprofessional work, including the third year, must be taken in residence at Clemson. These 90 hours must include all general education courses required by Clemson and any applicable REACH Act requirements along with any prerequisite courses required by the participating MUSC degree program.

Dental

• Intent to Participate form needs to be completed by the beginning of the second semester of your second year (January 30)
• Clemson students must take the Dental Admissions Test following completion of their sophomore year. The current MUSC recommended score on the DAT is 20/20 (i.e. 20 on the perceptual ability section and 20 on the academic average section). Students are encouraged to repeat the DAT if their initial score is less than 20/20. MUSC’s DMD admissions committee will consider the highest total DAT score submitted. There is no penalty or negative connotation associated with multiple DAT attempts.
• Student’s unadjusted GPA at the time of application to dental school must be greater than or equal to 3.5.
• All applicants to the MUSC College of Dental Medicine must complete their AADSAS application between June 1 following their second year and prior to December 1 of their third year.
• All applicants must submit a complete supplemental application between July 1 following their second year and prior to December 1 of their third year.
• Pathway students must complete 90 semester hours prior to admission to MUSC. The 90 semester hours of undergraduate education may include up to 30 of the semester hours from another institution prior to admission to Clemson. The final 60 semester hours, and at least two of the three years of preprofessional work, including the third year, must be taken in residence at Clemson. These 90 hours must include all general education courses required by Clemson and any applicable REACH Act requirements along with any prerequisite courses required by the participating MUSC degree program.

Pharmacy

• Intent to Participate form needs to be completed by the beginning of the 2nd semester of your second year (January 30).
• Student’s unadjusted GPA at the time of application, and until matriculation if accepted into the PharmD program, must be greater than or equal to 3.2.
• All applicants to the MUSC College of Pharmacy must complete their PharmCas application after their second year (July 30).
• Pathway students must complete 90 semester hours prior to admission to MUSC. The 90 semester hours of undergraduate education may include up to 30 of the semester hours from another institution prior to admission to Clemson. The final 60 semester hours, and at least two of the three years of preprofessional work, including the third year, must be taken in residence at Clemson. These 90 hours must include all general education courses required by Clemson and any applicable REACH Act requirements along with any prerequisite courses required by the participating MUSC degree program.
• Contact information: Students should refer to the MUSC College of Pharmacy’s admission webpage for more information on prerequisites and application requirements for the PharmD program. We recommend that you reach out to Jenny Bagg, admissions manager, or Morgan Wing, recruitment coordinator, with any questions related to the PharmD program requirements.
• Application deadline: All applicants to the MUSC College of Pharmacy must complete their PharmCas application after their second year (May 1, 2026).

Physical Therapy

• Intent to Participate form needs to be completed by the beginning of the 2nd semester of your second year (January 30).
• Student’s unadjusted GPA at the time of application, and until matriculation if accepted into the DPT program, must be greater than or equal to 3.0. The average GPA for students accepted into the program is 3.6 on a 4.0 scale.
• The GRE is required for admission.
• All applicants must complete a DPT program application through the Physical Therapist Centralized Application Service, the supplemental MUSC application, and submit any supplemental materials, between July 1st following their second year and prior to the programs’ application deadline in their third year. Note: The residential and hybrid programs have different application deadlines.
• Pathway students must complete 90 semester hours prior to admission to MUSC. The 90 semester hours of undergraduate education may include up to 30 of the semester hours from another institution prior to admission to Clemson. The final 60 semester hours, and at least two of the three years of preprofessional work, including the third year, must be taken in residence at Clemson. These 90 hours must include all general education courses required by Clemson and any applicable REACH Act requirements along with any prerequisite courses required by the participating MUSC degree program.

Occupational Therapy

• Intent to Participate form needs to be completed by the beginning of the 2nd semester of your second year (January 30).
• Student’s unadjusted GPA at the time of application (until matriculation if accepted into the OTD program) must be greater than or equal to 3.0. The average GPA for students accepted into the program is 3.62 on a 4.0 scale.
• All applicants must complete an OTD program application through the Occupational Therapist Centralized Application Service, the supplemental MUSC application, and submit any supplemental materials between July 1 following their second year and prior to the programs’ application deadline in their third year. Note: The residential and hybrid programs have different application deadlines.
• Pathway students must complete 90 semester hours prior to admission to MUSC. The 90 semester hours of undergraduate education may include up to 30 of the semester hours from another institution prior to admission to Clemson. The final 60 semester hours, and at least two of the three years of preprofessional work, including the third year, must be taken in residence at Clemson. These 90 hours must include all general education courses required by Clemson and any applicable REACH Act requirements along with any prerequisite courses required by the participating MUSC degree program.

Cardiovascular Perfusion

• Intent to Participate form needs to be completed by the beginning of the 2nd semester of your second year (January 30).
• Student’s unadjusted GPA at the time of application, and until matriculation if accepted into the MS CVP program, must be greater than or equal to 3.0. The average GPA for students accepted into the program is typically 3.4 on a 4.0 scale.
• The MS CVP application and any supplemental application materials should be submitted after July 1 following their second year and before December 1 of the third year.
• These 90 hours must include all general education courses required by Clemson and any applicable REACH Act requirements along with any prerequisite courses required by the participating MUSC degree program by the end of their third year.

Health Administration

• Intent to Participate form needs to be completed by the beginning of the 2nd semester of your second year (January 30).
• The MUSC MHA application should be submitted between July 1 following their second year and before April 1st of the third year.
• Clemson students must hold a cumulative GPA of greater than or equal to 3.0. Students must maintain this GPA expectation throughout their instruction at Clemson University.
• Pathway students must complete 90 semester hours prior to admission to MUSC. The 90 semester hours of undergraduate education may include up to 30 of the semester hours from another institution prior to admission to Clemson. The final 60 semester hours, and at least two of the three years of preprofessional work, including the third year, must be taken in residence at Clemson. These 90 hours must include all general education courses required by Clemson and any applicable REACH Act requirements along with any prerequisite courses required by the participating MUSC degree program.

The accelerated pathways to MUSC do not provide provisional admission, guaranteed admission or preference compared with all other applicants to the professional schools. These accelerated pathways do provide students an opportunity to potentially eliminate one year of study, and the associated tuition, in their total undergraduate-professional program.

All students are required to meet with the Health Professions Advising office in order to declare their intent to apply to any MUSC program participating through the accelerated pathways program.

For specific MUSC program admissions requirements, please click on the above links for the program of interest. The MUSC website describes each program's regular admissions and eligibility requirements. See "MUSC Accelerated Pathways Timelines" for the intent to participate timeline and student responsibilities for completing Clemson credits.

Students must contact the Health Professions Advising office to declare their intent to participate in any acceleration with MUSC.

The purpose of the MUSC Accelerated Pathways to professional health degrees is to reduce the total student tuition debt while retaining the best and brightest students in South Carolina. This is accomplished by eliminating an academic year for competitive students, who are ready to transition early to MUSC.

Please review the information on this webpage. Then, request an advising appointment with the Health Professions Advising office to discuss the MUSC program you are interested in and the necessary steps to proceed.

It is possible to pursue these programs through any degree-granting major at Clemson; however, some degree programs are more accommodating of the prerequisite coursework required by MUSC than others. Students are encouraged to meet with the Health Professions Advising office and consult with departmental advisors regarding how prerequisite coursework may be accommodated within the curriculum.

In most MUSC Accelerated Pathways, the students transition to MUSC before earning a Clemson undergraduate degree. The student then earns a Clemson baccalaureate degree after successful completion of one year of professional studies. This question is addressed in the Undergraduate Announcements in the Academic Regulations section titled “Pre-Professional Health Studies and Preprofessional Studies.” Students MUST meet registrar deadlines, fees and other requirements. Upon receipt of this information, the registrar will contact the appropriate college for which the student had studied at Clemson. It is up to the discretion of the college faculty to determine if a student has earned a baccalaureate degree in a specific discipline (e.g. health sciences, biological sciences) or should be awarded a degree in preprofessional studies.

Students interested in learning more about the MUSC Accelerated Pathways should:

• Contact the Health Professions Advising office at cuhpa@clemson.edu.
• Attend one of the regularly conducted information sessions (announced on this website and other venues on campus).

What happens if I am not accepted into an MUSC professional degree program through the MUSC Accelerated Pathway program?

The MUSC Accelerated Pathway programs are very competitive. If you are not accepted into the MUSC professional degree program via this opportunity, you may be encouraged (by MUSC) to apply via the normal process. You will not have a disadvantage in the normal application process but will complete your baccalaureate at Clemson prior to transition to MUSC.