Admissions Process
Review and Selection Process
Selection of each class is a two-step process of careful review for academic leadership potential (judged by both individual characteristics and institutional support). Applications are distributed to a large review committee and then final selection of class members is made by the selection committee. Qualification for committee membership takes into consideration differences in geographical location of school, type of school (size, public versus private) and experience with the ELAM program. Staff members aim to draw from the breadth of the ELAM community in inviting members to the committees. New committees are selected each year.
Review committees are generally composed of ELAM alumnae, senior officials of schools of medicine, dentistry, public health and pharmacy, and faculty of the ELAM program. Separate review committees are determined for each of the professions of medicine, dentistry, public health and pharmacy. Individual rankings with narrative support are requested for consideration of each candidate's clarity of career goals, commitment to a senior administrative career, likelihood of attaining a significant institutional leadership role within the five years following enrollment into ELAM, self-awareness about her own leadership competencies, and the breadth and depth of her leadership knowledge and experience.
A single selection committee reviews all rankings and descriptive comments of candidates by referencing reports from members of the review committees. ELAM staff compile a listing of candidates, ranked by summative scores (adjusted for individual bias by z-score and reviewer differences identified by standard deviation of scores) and by review committee members' global recommendations of acceptance. Out of that listing, selection committee members identify a cohort of fellows from medicine, dentistry, public health and pharmacy during a single meeting generally scheduled in March of each year.
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ELAM is a core program of the Institute for Women's Health and Leadership at Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pa. The Institute continues the legacy of advancing women in medicine that began in 1850 with the founding of the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania, the nation's first women's medical school and a predecessor of today's Drexel University College of Medicine.