The Interview Day Experience
Journey to Becoming a PhysicianeerInterview Day is your chance to explore the groundbreaking Engineering Medicine program and discover if it’s the right fit for you. It’s more than an evaluation—it’s an opportunity to envision yourself thriving in an integrated dual-degree program that merges medicine and engineering to transform healthcare.
What to Expect
The Interview
Interviews are by invitation only and will be conducted in person that takes place over a period of 15 weeks, starting in August and concluding in December. Interviews are scheduled on Mondays.
Multiple Mini-Interviews
Candidates will complete six interview stations, each evaluating critical competencies like communication, ethical reasoning, problem-solving, and professional responsibility. At each station, applicants have two minutes to prepare and five minutes to respond to scenario-based questions.
Medical Interview
The medical school interview is a key component of the holistic admissions process, allowing candidates to articulate their motivations and demonstrate how their experiences, attributes, and academic background align with a career in medicine.
Engineering Interview
The engineering interview provides an opportunity for candidates to elaborate on their engineering and innovation background and interests. As part of the engineering interview process candidates will also choose from a series of clinical problems prior to the interview and come prepared to discuss potential real-world solutions with interviewers (3-5 minutes).
Clinical Problem Discussion
The clinical problem discussion allows candidates a unique opportunity to discuss their approach to developing a device-based solution to a real-world clinical problem.
Candidates must choose one of the clinical problems listed for discussion. An in-depth analysis in not expected. The discussion is intended to highlight the candidates thinking and application process. Candidates are free to use any sources they would like in this process.
Clinical Problem PromptsEngineering Quiz
As part of interview day, you will complete engineering quizzes made up of four topic areas. You will choose the three topics in which you feel most confident or most interested. Each quiz is designed to understand your practical, hands-on engineering skills and how you’ve applied what you’ve learned, not what you can cram the night before.
Engineering Quizzes Overview
The four topic areas of the engineering quizzes are:
Focuses on how things are made and what they’re made from. You’ll work with a small set of example parts and answer questions about likely manufacturing methods and common engineering materials.
Focuses on basic electronic components and simple circuits. You’ll interact with a small set of parts and answer questions that reflect experience building or working with electronics.
Focuses on core coding concepts rather than writing code. You’ll answer questions about ideas like control flow and organizing programs, with an emphasis on concepts typically learned by actually coding. It emphasizes some of the more commonly used programming languages.
Focuses on concepts in areas like cell-based therapies and regenerative medicine. This topic is intended for candidates with a strong interest or background in bioengineering-related fields.
How to Choose and “Prepare”
You will select the three topics that best match the skills and experiences you’ve already pursued. Formal studying is not expected or required. The quiz is meant to reflect what you’ve learned through your own motivation (courses, projects, personal tinkering, internships, etc.), not your short-term test prep. If you do want to refresh, focus on revisiting things you’ve actually done: past projects, lab work, class assignments, or self-directed learning (e.g., online tutorials or hands-on practice) in the areas you choose.
Quiz results are one piece of your overall evaluation, alongside your engineering interview and your discussion of past projects. Strong quiz performance often aligns with candidates who can clearly explain their personal contributions and practical experiences; lower scores can highlight where someone’s experience has been more limited or indirect.
Schedule and Arrival
Interview Day starts at 8:00 a.m., and candidates are expected to arrive at least 15-20 minutes early. Upon your arrival at the Discovery Tower, located at 1020 Holcombe Blvd, Houston, TX, you will be greeted by staff. The interview day will conclude at 3:00 p.m. Additional information about the optional pre-social event on Sunday will be provided through your interview reminder email.
Guest Parking
Guest parking is available at the Horizon Tower Parking Garage, and parking will be validated at the security desk.
Interview Day FAQ’s
Dress the part! Business professional attire should be observed.
You may choose any Houston accommodation that suits your needs. The InterContinental Houston – Medical Center, DoubleTree – Houston Medical Center, and The Westin – Houston Medical Center offer a discounted rate for Texas A&M University guests. When booking, ask for the Texas A&M University rate!
Each applicant will go through a series of multiple mini-interviews (MMI), a traditional engineering interview which will include a case study discussion, and take an engineering quiz. The interviews and quiz give the admissions committee another measure to evaluate traits that may foster the development of a competent, creative, compassionate, and responsible physicianeer.
The multiple mini-interviews (MMIs) format will consist of six individual stations designed to evaluate behavioral competencies such as communication, ethical and moral judgment, problem-solving, and responsibility. Each candidate is given two minutes to prepare a response to a pre-determined scenario question at each station (scenarios will not be provided prior to the interview day). Candidates have five minutes to articulate their response to their interviewer in a way that highlights their potential to develop into a culturally competent and effective physicianeer.
Candidates should read the Interview Case Study Description and come prepared to discuss one of the four prompts.
The case study allows candidates a unique opportunity to discuss their approach to developing a device-based solution to a real-world clinical problem. Please review the case studies at the link above and select a clinical problem, develop a clear understanding of the problem, then think creatively about potential solutions and improvements to current standards. Candidates are free to use any sources they would like in this process.
During the interview, candidates must be prepared to answer questions about the problem they chose and their approach to solving it and articulate their ideas in a succinct two-minute pitch-style answer.
Applicants are considered when they demonstrate experience in engineering design, innovation, or entrepreneurship. The Admissions Committee looks for demonstrated motivation for a career in medicine through medically related experiences and a passion for service to others through altruistic activities. More information on Texas A&M Universities Core values can be found here
We are happy to work with you to reschedule your interview date if we can accommodate the change. Please reschedule by reaching out to us as soon as you realize you will not be able to keep your originally scheduled interview. This will allow us to fill the spot with another applicant. Contact us at enmed.admissions@tamu.edu
No. To maintain an equal playing field for all our applicants, all interviews will be conducted in person.
Hospital tours are offered virtually. You can explore the Centennial Tower through this virtual tour.
To learn more about Houston Methodist Hospital, including its facilities and programs, visit the Houston Methodist YouTube channel.
The Texas A&M Naresh K. Vashisht College of Medicine will make first offers of acceptance into the EnMed program by mid-October. And will continue making offers through the pre-match period, which ends January 31, at which point in-state applicants participate in the match process through TMDSAS.
Commitment Statement
The Texas A&M University Naresh Vashisht College of Medicine and the Engineering Medicine Program are committed to producing a pool of lifelong-learning physicians and engineers (physicianeers) who are equipped and empowered with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes/behaviors necessary for excellence in research, education, and the practice of engineering medicine into the 21st century and beyond. We will train a “physicianeer” workforce that will design, educate, and deliver excellent primary, secondary, and tertiary healthcare to the diverse people (especially the underserved and underrepresented) of the state of Texas in both rural and urban settings, and with the capacity for global engagement. To this end, and in accordance with the values of our parent institution (Texas A&M University), we (engineering, medical, graduate, and post-graduate students, staff, and faculty) strive to build a community of scholars which represents the State of Texas and the global healthcare community.
We believe that a holistic approach to talent recruitment ensures an engineering and medical education program which demonstrates the excellence we seek in a student body by exemplifying our Aggie Core Values of excellence, integrity, respect, leadership, loyalty, and selfless service.