Specialty Specific Transitions Phase

Required Block Clerkships: Specialty Specific Transitions Phase (SSTP)

• EMMD 7504 (Emergency Medicine)

  • [pre-req MED 7500 and SURG 7400]

• INMD 79XX (ICU Acting Internship)

  • [pre-req MED 7500, and depending on the activity PED 7501 or SURG 7400]

• INMD 7103, 7104, 7105 (Becoming a Doctor Clinical Transition to Residency I, II, and III)

  • three 1-week courses in Specialty Specific Transitions phase;  all students scheduled for this on-campus course during designated intersession weeks (see calendar)

Specialty Specific Transitions Phase (SSTP) Designs

The Specialty Specific Transitions phase pulls together a series of designs that were specifically developed by experts in each specialty to prepare you to submit a strong application, participate in the interview and Match process, and complete your preparation for your chosen specialty. These designs provide a clear guide that can cut through a confusing swirl of information about how to prepare for the next stage in your training.

As you move through this process, it is natural to have questions. Please don’t hesitate to submit a question here. We collect your questions and provide answers in an FAQ to share with the class so you can all benefit from your classmates’ curiosity. 

Specialty Specific Transitions Phase (SSTP) Scheduling Process

The below timeline applies to students preparing to enter the Specialty Specific Transitions phase of their learning.

In August at Becoming a Doctor, you’ll receive detailed explanatory materials from the academic advising team and you’re encouraged to set up an appointment to discuss your specialty discernment process with your advisor. We expect all of you to be in different stages of certainty about your specialty of choice and your academic advisor can work with you to develop the most strategic scheduling plan regardless as to where you are in your process. 

In October, you’ll receive your Specialty Interest Survey where you’ll select up to three specialties you are interested in pursuing. You’ll have 10 days to complete the survey. This survey will be critical in preparing the Transitions phase to work for everyone. The results of the surveys will guide the clinical scheduling and curriculum teams to determine which clinical courses will need to be pre-scheduled to manage capacity limitations. It will also signal the curriculum team to work with faculty specialty directors and leads to address any unexpected capacity needs. 

In November, after pre-scheduling is complete, you’ll participate in the self-scheduling process to build the remainder of your schedule based on the design or designs you are following. Each design, in combination with a completed Clinical Immersion phase, will satisfy all the remaining required courses for graduation. The designs will also provide information about recommended electives to help you use your required elective credits to your best advantage. Please take full advantage of the course catalog to explore and learn throughout your Transitions phase. 

Starting in January, you will begin entering the Specialty-specific Transitions phase, with a majority of students entering in March, as soon as they complete their Clinical Immersion phase. 

SSTP Scheduling Round 1 - Specialty Survey and Capacity-Restricted Specialty Courses

Academic advisors will send you a specialty interest survey. Refer to your class's scheduling timeline for dates. Please be sure to complete this survey by the deadline provided. This survey helps the clinical scheduling team plan for capacity needs and helps us pre-schedule students for capacity-restricted advanced courses that they may need for specialty discernment/residency applications. The specific specialties vary based on the results of this survey. 

SSTP Scheduling Round 2 - Specialty Specific Transitions Phase Required Clerkships & Missed Core Required Clerkships

After the specialty interest survey is due, the clinical scheduling team will work with you to schedule any remaining core required courses from your Clinical Immersion phase that need to be scheduled and your required Emergency Medicine and Acting Internship in Critical Care coursework.

SSTP Scheduling Round 3 - Arranged Scheduling

Arranged Courses are courses that require consent from the course prior to scheduling. These courses also require administrative help from the clinical scheduler for scheduling in MEdIS. After MEdIS schedules are updated with EMMD 7504, INMD 79XX, and any missing core required courses as described above, the next step is Arranged Scheduling Opening Day. Please refer to your class's scheduling timeline for the specific date. 

Students should consult the course directory to determine if any of their courses of interest are set as arranged (Requires Consent to Enroll - Yes).  The course directory page for the course will provide instructions for requesting approval; some arranged courses use a Google form and others require students to email the course coordinator directly for approval.

It is important that students wait until their class's Arranged Scheduling Opening Day to request any Specialty Specific Transitions Phase (SSTP) arranged courses. Students should consult their class's scheduling timeline for the timing around how to receive priority scheduling for arranged courses, as coordinators allow a couple of days for students to submit requests with priority scheduling (after which, student requests will be approved/denied on a first come, first served basis). Students will be able to submit requests for arranged courses on an ongoing basis, even after Self Scheduling Day. 

Coordinators will email students directly if they are approved to take an arranged course that they requested. Once approved, students will fill out the schedule change request form to have the course added to their schedules.  

NOTE: Depending on when the student's schedule change request form is submitted, the course may not show up on the student's schedule prior to Self Scheduling Day.

SSTP Scheduling Round 4 - Self-Scheduling Day

Who:  Rising Specialty Specific Transitions Phase Students

What students need:  After planning with advisors, students come with an idea of the type of structure they want to have for their schedules.  Students do not need to plan out their schedules class by class but should have a general idea of what they would like to take and when they will be scheduling those courses.

When:  Students should consult their class's scheduling timeline for the date.

Where:  Students need to be in a place with reliable internet access and be prepared for the time their group is set to schedule.

Why:  Self Scheduling Day is how students complete their Specialty Specific Transitions Phase schedules.  

How it works:

• Each student is randomly assigned to one of ten groups.  There are 8 rounds (6 minutes each) of the self-scheduling process. 

• Students will be able to add 4 credits (4 weeks) per round. 

• In addition to adding a course, students will be able to move any non-arranged elective courses that are already on their schedule (assuming it's in a period that hasn't yet passed the applicable Add/Drop deadlines). 

• Students cannot move required courses on their own, and there is little flexibility to move these courses due to capacity constraints. However, the clinical scheduler and academic advisors are available throughout the day if a student wishes to inquire about the possibility of moving a required course to a space that appears open in MEdIS. 

• Students will not be able to delete required courses once they have been added. 

• Students will be able to choose sites for all electives that offer site choice.  The electives students will be scheduling on Self Scheduling Day are only those that are open to student scheduling. This can be found by looking at the course directory. Any courses that indicate “Open to student scheduling” within the course directory page can be scheduled during this self-scheduling process. 

• Students will not be able to make changes to their schedule for periods that have passed the applicable add/drop deadlines.  If students miss a round, they will be able to add an additional 4 credits in the following round to match their respective place. At 5pm on the night of Self Scheduling Day, the scheduling system will reopen for students to add any additional courses that were not previously added during the day.

Specialty Specific Transitions Phase Resources

Clinical Housing Program

Link to page here to:

• • Request the host/housing list

  • Submit a housing stipend application (must meet requirements listed in application)

Credit Policies and Exceptions

View credit policies and exceptions here

Medical Student Policies 

Please review all policies prior to entering Clinical Immersion Phase! You can view policies here.

Medical Student Space at Major Clinical Sites

View this linked document for information on secure storage and study space for medical students. This document is also linked in your course Canvas page.

Minnesota Background Study

• How to download a replacement copy

MSPE Resources

• Student Guide: Comments for the MSPE (co2026)

• MSPE Comment Breakdown by Clerkship

Preparing for Your Required Clerkships Resource for Medical Students

View this linked document for information on:

• • Planning for the first day

  • ILT Time

  • Clerkship Exams

  • Clinical Accommodations

Site Placement Process for Required Clerkships

Read the site placement process for required clerkships here.

Specialty Specific Transitions Designs

Review the Specialty-Specific Transitions designs here.