The elective program has a twofold purpose: 1) to aid the student in a career choice and 2) to offer an opportunity to build strengths in related fields should a career choice have been made by the senior year. Four months of the fourth year of medical school are available for electives.

Students may take more than four months of electives by using the unscheduled four weeks in the junior year; however, academic credit will not be awarded for the same elective taken more than twice. Students may take electives off campus if approved by the chair of the relevant medical school department and then by an associate dean for student affairs. Some students may choose to spend their elective time on a research project.

An elective handbook listing the various offerings is published each year. Included are electives in the major clinical disciplines and in the medical and surgical subspecialties. Occasionally a student may, with faculty approval, design an elective to meet a special need. Selection of electives is guided by individual counseling from faculty when needed.

More than 100 elective courses are offered by many departments, including Anesthesiology and Pain Management, Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, Clinical Science, Dermatology, Family and Community Medicine, Internal Medicine, Neurology, Neurological Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ophthalmology, Orthopaedic Surgery, Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Pathology, Pediatrics, Pharmacology, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Plastic Surgery, Psychiatry, Radiology, Surgery, and Urology.