Criminal Background Check

The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) recommends that all US medical schools obtain a national background check on applicants upon their initial, conditional acceptance to medical school. The rationale for performing criminal background checks on accepted medical school applicants is based on the need to enhance the safety and well-being of patients and to ascertain the ability of accepted applicants to eventually become licensed physicians.

All accepted applicants to The University of New Mexico will be subject to a criminal background investigation, and all offers of admission will be contingent upon satisfactory criminal background investigation results. All accepted applicants will have the opportunity to verify the report's accuracy and to dispute any false information prior to the report being made available to the medical school. More information regarding the criminal background check can be found at the AAMC Background Check Service website.

Applicants to the School of Medicine are required to acknowledge any convictions of a criminal offense (including misdemeanors), professional misconduct or administrative actions. Minor traffic violations (such as speeding tickets) do not need to be disclosed; however, other misdemeanor offenses (such as DWIs or MIPs) should be fully disclosed on the AMCAS and Secondary applications.

In the event that you are charged with a felony, misdemeanor, student disciplinary action, professional misconduct or administrative action after the submission of the AMCAS and/or secondary application, it is your responsibility to inform the UNM School of Medicine Office of Admissions immediately of the charge or any pending charges. This information will not necessarily disqualify you from acceptance or admission, however, failure to disclose may result in the rescission of acceptance.

Any discrepancy between the information reported during the application process and information uncovered during the background check may be grounds for rescission of acceptance from School of Medicine. Further details are provided on the Secondary Application.