Yonsei University College of Medicine to Nurture Physician-Scientists from Pre-Medical Stage... Launches Intensive Major

New Intensive Majors Introduced in Mathematics, Life Sciences, and Social Sciences
"Step-by-Step Training System from Basic Sciences in Pre-Med to Medical Research"

Yonsei University College of Medicine is introducing a new curriculum that enables students to build a foundation in basic sciences and research skills from the pre-medical stage, aiming to nurture physician-scientists.

On September 11, Yonsei University College of Medicine announced that it will launch an intensive “Pre-PS (Physician-Scientist)” major for pre-medical students starting from the second semester of the 2026 academic year.

Severance Hospital exterior. Yonsei University Health System

This newly established Pre-PS intensive major is part of the Ministry of Health and Welfare's “Convergence Physician-Scientist Training Program.” The core of the program is to allow students to study basic sciences related to their interests in depth from the pre-medical period and to develop the research foundations required to become physician-scientists in the future.

The intensive major is offered in three tracks: ▲Medical Mathematical Science ▲Medical Life Science ▲Medical Social Science. Depending on their interests, students study basic academic disciplines—such as mathematics and statistics, life sciences, and social sciences—that can be connected to medicine.

The education is not limited to the College of Medicine. Students will take major courses offered by various colleges within Yonsei University and receive instruction from faculty in those respective fields. Track-specific subcommittees, composed of faculty members from the College of Medicine, will be responsible for student selection, curriculum management, and research mentoring.

Through this program, students will acquire integrative skills by learning not only about medicine but also about perspectives and research methods from other disciplines, and they will apply these approaches in exploring medical problems. Selected students will take track-specific designated courses during their pre-medical studies. Yonsei University College of Medicine plans to connect basic science education begun in the pre-medical curriculum with research experiences in medicine.

Choi Jaeyoung, Dean of Yonsei University College of Medicine, stated, "For physicians leading the future of healthcare, it is important to possess not only clinical competency but also research capability rooted in an understanding of diverse disciplines and their applications in solving medical problems. We will continue to strengthen the foundation for developing physician-scientists, so students can explore their fields of interest in depth from the pre-medical stage and further advance these into actual research during their medical studies."

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