UMass Chan Medical School MD program · 2026-27 MD applicants (entering 2027)

Your UMass Chan medical school interview

UMass Chan interviews in two steps: first you record brief video answers in the Kira Talent portal, and if you do well there you are invited to a live, one-on-one, virtual structured interview. The school says it is not testing science knowledge but communication, ethics, critical thinking, teamwork and your ability to see other perspectives.

Sources (4)

UMass Chan Medical School: Interviews - UMass Chan Medical School · Student Doctor Network: 2026-2027 University of Massachusetts Medical School (2026) · Student Doctor Network: University of Massachusetts T. H. Chan Medical School Individual responses (2010) · Reddit: UMass MMI Interview (2020)

About 37%of interviewed applicants are accepted, by applicants' own estimates from the 2023 and 2024 cycles; the school publishes no counts. Student Doctor Network · Reddit

225students in the Class of 2030, including 32 in PURCH, 23 in LEAD@Lahey and 10 in the MSTP. UMass Chan Medical School

Congratulations again: reaching the live interview means you already cleared the Kira screen, since UMass invites applicants to it based on their recorded performance. The school does not say how heavily the interview weighs, only that its process assesses communication, ethics, critical thinking and teamwork rather than science. The 37% figure comes from applicant estimates in older cycles, before the Kira step was added.

Sources (3)

UMass Chan Medical School: Interviews - UMass Chan Medical School · Student Doctor Network: 2024-2025 Massachusetts (2024) · Reddit: Am I Interviewing for a spot on the waitlist? : r/premed (2023)

How it worksRecorded Kira Talent video answers first; a strong showing leads to a live one-on-one structured interview UMass Chan Medical School · Student Doctor Network

WhereVirtual: Kira online, then the live interview by video UMass Chan Medical School · Student Doctor Network

WhenKira due within seven days of your notice; live interviews run September through March UMass Chan Medical School · UMass Chan Medical School · Reddit

What they assessCommunication, interpersonal skills, ethics, critical thinking, teamwork, other perspectives; not science UMass Chan Medical School

3 more: special tracks, odds, after

Special tracksPURCH adds a virtual MMI; LEAD@Lahey an open-file one-on-one; MSTP up to two research rounds UMass Chan Medical School · UMass Chan Medical School

OddsApplicants report (2024) roughly 37% of interviewees are accepted Student Doctor Network · Reddit

AfterAccept, waitlist or reject; applicants report waits often running into April Reddit · Student Doctor Network · Student Doctor Network

How you get an interview

UMass Chan asks for a verified AMCAS application, letters of recommendation, an MCAT score, AAMC PREview, the secondary forms and a fee. The AMCAS deadline is mid-October and the secondary deadline is December 1. Files get holistic review from a diverse Admissions Committee with strong student representation.

Step one is recorded. An invitation starts with brief prerecorded video responses in the Kira Talent portal, which you must finish within seven days of the notice.
Step two is earned. Based on your Kira performance, you may be invited to the live one-on-one interview. You then pick your time in PeopleSoft.
Watch your spam folder. A 2026 applicant says UMass emails sometimes land there.

Applicants report invitations going out as late as late February (2024).

What the interview is like

The 2026-27 cycle is the first with the Kira step, so older accounts describe a different setup.

Kira. Short recorded answers to prompts on screen, done on your own schedule within the seven-day window.
The live interview. One interviewer, virtual, structured. The school does not say how long it runs or whether your interviewer has read your file.
Before the day. UMass gives you orientation videos on admissions, interviews, curriculum and financial aid, plus virtual sessions to meet current students, all in PeopleSoft.

In recent past cycles UMass used virtual MMIs. Applicants report (2024) tough case scenarios where some asked for questions to be repeated, and a 2026 applicant called the questions not overly difficult. The school's own sample scenario: competing views on restrictive hospital visitor policies after the SARS outbreak. Older reports describe friendly, low-stress, conversational interviewers.

Sources: UMass Chan Medical School: Interviews - UMass Chan Medical School · UMass Chan Medical School: Vista Curriculum Degree options - UMass Chan Medical School · Student Doctor Network: 2026-2027 University of Massachusetts Medical School (2026) · Student Doctor Network: 2025-2026 Massachusetts (2026) · Reddit: UMass PURCH: Does doing better on the PURCH interview help a bad/mediocre UMass (2024) · Student Doctor Network: University of Massachusetts T. H. Chan Medical School Individual responses (2010) · Reddit: UMass MMI Interview (2020)

What they're looking for

UMass says its interviews assess communication, interpersonal skills, ethics, critical thinking, teamwork and the capacity to understand other perspectives. They do not test scientific knowledge.

That fits the curriculum's six core competencies: physician as clinical problem solver, communicator, patient and community advocate, person, professional, and scientist. The Vista curriculum's mission speaks of preparing physician leaders to care equitably for diverse populations.

Questions applicants have reported over the years lean toward:

Fit. Why UMass, and what is your attachment to Massachusetts.
Health policy. Massachusetts health care, single-payer systems, Medicaid, how a hospital CEO's pay should be set.
Ethics. Whether doctors may be overly optimistic when consenting a patient for an experimental therapy.
You. Stress, support systems, strengths and weaknesses, a hard challenge and how you got through it.

Sources: UMass Chan Medical School: Interviews - UMass Chan Medical School · UMass Chan Medical School: T.H. Chan School of Medicine - Curriculum · Student Doctor Network: University of Massachusetts T. H. Chan Medical School Interview Feedback & Stude

The PURCH, LEAD@Lahey and MD/PhD tracks

Applicants to a regional campus track write an extra essay and do a campus-specific interview. About 25 students join each track every year.

PURCH (UMass Chan-Baystate, Springfield). Population health and urban and rural community health. Its interview is a virtual MMI.
LEAD@Lahey (UMass Chan-Lahey, Burlington). Leadership, health systems science and interprofessional education. Its interview is a virtual, open-file, one-on-one structured interview.
Scheduling. For either track you choose your main interview date and track interview date together, from a bundle.
MD/PhD (MSTP). Up to two further rounds focused on research and readiness, depending on performance.

Applicants report (2024) that a separate committee decides the track, that you must be admitted to the regular MD first, and that a track denial still leaves you in the regular MD pool. Track decisions can take longer.

After the interview

Outcomes are acceptance, waitlist or rejection. Applicants report several things the school does not publish:

Long waits. A 4-6 week turnaround is quoted, but it often takes 10-11 weeks or more (2025). Many who interviewed in the fall heard in April.
Not in order. Decisions are not released in interview order, so late interviewees still compete for acceptances (2023-2024). Offers often come on Fridays (2024).
Active consideration emails. Some get one 2-4 weeks after interviewing; not everyone does.
No deposit. Applicants report none is needed to hold a seat (2025).
Second Look. Early April.

Advice on letters conflicts. One 2024 report says staff told interviewees not to send letters of intent; others say only a letter with a significant update counts. A 2026 applicant advises against emailing for status, since replies are generic.

Sources: Student Doctor Network: 2025-2026 Massachusetts (2026) · Student Doctor Network: 2024-2025 Massachusetts (2024) · Reddit: Am I Interviewing for a spot on the waitlist? : r/premed (2023) · Reddit: Worst Behaved AdComs Awards : r/premed (2023) · Student Doctor Network: 2024-2025 Massachusetts (2025) · Student Doctor Network: 2023-2024 Massachusetts (2024)

How to prepare

Practice on camera. Kira answers are brief and recorded, so rehearse short, structured answers to a webcam, and test your camera, lighting, microphone, internet and space.
Build an ethics habit. Applicants advise reviewing bioethics principles and laying out pros and cons of a scenario rather than taking a rigid stance.
Know your file. Reread your AMCAS, personal statement and secondaries; past interviewers asked about specific grades, internships and shadowing.
Have stories ready. Service, teamwork, leadership, conflict, failure, resilience and ethical reasoning.
Know UMass. Use the orientation videos and student sessions in PeopleSoft, and prepare two or three questions about the curriculum, pathways or regional campuses.

Sources: UMass Chan Medical School: Interviews - UMass Chan Medical School · Student Doctor Network: University of Massachusetts T. H. Chan Medical School Interview Prep Briefing (2026) · Student Doctor Network: University of Massachusetts T. H. Chan Medical School Interview Feedback & Stude · Student Doctor Network: University of Massachusetts T. H. Chan Medical School Individual responses (2010)

Your interviewer

Brian Coughlan, MD Fictional interviewer

Get a briefing on your own interviewer

Know who's interviewing you? Their LinkedIn profile is the best source.

Use a computer if you can. Open their LinkedIn profile in a web browser, click More (or ⋯) under their name, then Save to PDF.
On a phone: the LinkedIn app can't save a profile. Open linkedin.com in your phone's browser instead, switch to the desktop site, and use More → Save to PDF.
Upload the PDF here, or paste what you know about them (a bio, a profile page).

See the sample briefing

Worcester community health center family doctor, UMass Chan clinical faculty who teaches patient communication, and an MD admissions interviewer since 2018

Dr. Coughlan has been a family physician at a Worcester community health center since 2016. About a third of his patients there prefer a language other than English. He is clinical faculty at UMass Chan (since 2017), where he supervises students in clinic and leads small groups in the doctoring and clinical skills course. He has interviewed MD applicants since 2018, roughly eight years, and says he now does the live one-on-one sessions that follow the recorded Kira prompts. The school does not say who interviews you, so he is only one possible interviewer. His profile tells you what he wants: 'what you actually did,' what you learned 'when it went badly,' and whether you will stay and practice in Massachusetts. He is a UMass alum (MD 2009) who trained and has worked entirely in Massachusetts, and he worked as an EMT before medical school. Expect a friendly but concrete conversation. He will likely push past polished summaries to specifics, and he will notice how you listen and explain, since that is what he teaches.

Their path

BA Biology, College of the Holy Cross, 2003
EMT in Worcester, about two years before medical school
MD, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 2009
Family medicine residency, Pioneer Valley Family Medicine Residency (Springfield), 2009-2012
Staff physician, Merrimack Valley Health Partners (Lowell), 2012-2016: primary and prenatal care for a largely Khmer- and Spanish-speaking panel
Family physician, Quinsigamond Family Health Center (Worcester), 2016-present: leads the hypertension quality team and is clinical site director for student placements
Assistant Professor (clinical), UMass Chan Family Medicine and Community Health, 2017-present; admissions interviewer 2018-present
Volunteer physician, Blackstone Free Clinic, monthly since 2014; youth hockey coach since 2019

What it means for your conversation

He has interviewed for about eight years and has heard every rehearsed answer. Concrete detail will land; generic lines like 'I'm passionate about helping people' will not.
He says outright that he asks what you actually did and what you learned when it went badly. Have a real failure story ready, with your own role, the mistake and what you changed afterward.
He 'cares a lot about who will stay and practice in Massachusetts.' Expect a question about your tie to the state. If you have none, say so honestly and give a real reason you would build a career there. Don't invent roots.
He teaches communication and patient interviewing, so he will likely notice whether you answer the question asked, keep it organized and listen well.
His work involves language barriers, long waits for care and a free clinic. Questions about access, equity or Massachusetts health policy (including Medicaid, called MassHealth in Massachusetts) are plausible.
He supervises first- and third-year students, so he knows the curriculum from the inside. Your questions about Vista or the Learning Community Houses can be genuine and specific.
He is a UMass graduate who stayed, so 'Why UMass?' will likely need a concrete answer rather than a ranking or prestige answer.

Questions they may lean toward

Tell me about a time something went badly. What exactly did you do, and what would you do differently? His profile says this is what he asks about.
What is your connection to Massachusetts, and where do you see yourself practicing? He states he cares about who will stay and practice in the state.
Walk me through your actual role in an activity on your application. He says he asks about what you actually did, which tests whether you are inflating your role.
A patient doesn't share your language or has waited months for care. How would you approach the visit? This is likely, because it reflects his daily practice and the communication course he teaches.
An ethics or health-access scenario where you weigh competing views The school assesses ethics and seeing other perspectives, and he works in the safety net (clinics that serve patients regardless of ability to pay).
How do you handle stress, and who supports you? Applicants commonly report this question at UMass.

Honest common ground

If you have done clinical volunteering, scribing, EMT work or worked at a free clinic, you can speak to frontline patient care honestly. Don't stretch it.
If you speak another language, or have helped patients across a language barrier, that connects to his work. Describe your real proficiency accurately.
If you have lived, studied or worked in Massachusetts, especially Worcester, that is real common ground.
Interest in primary care or community health only if it is genuine. Don't claim family medicine to please him.

Questions to ask them

From supervising first-year students in clinic, what separates students who adapt well to early patient contact from those who struggle? It draws on his real experience and helps you plan.
How do the Learning Community Houses and House Mentors shape how students learn to talk with patients? It ties to his teaching and is a real curriculum question.
What helps UMass graduates who want to practice in Massachusetts actually end up staying? It addresses a priority he states and gives you useful information about the school.
How do students get exposure to patients who prefer a language other than English, or to community health center care? It is specific to his setting and to the school's mission of equitable care.

Avoid

Reciting his resume back to him, or mentioning hockey, cycling, the Red Sox or chowder to build rapport.
Claiming interest in family medicine or in staying in Massachusetts if it isn't true. He will probe.
Vague teamwork stories with no personal action, or 'failures' that are really disguised strengths.
Overstating your language skills or your clinical responsibilities.
Taking a rigid one-sided stance on ethics or policy. Lay out both sides, then reason to a view.
Assuming he is your interviewer. The school does not say who interviews.

A sample, to show what the briefing looks like: Brian Coughlan, MD and their employers are invented.

Based on: The sample interviewer's profile (fictional) · UMass Chan Medical School: Interviews - UMass Chan Medical School · Student Doctor Network: 2026-2027 University of Massachusetts Medical School (2026) · Student Doctor Network: University of Massachusetts T. H. Chan Medical School Individual responses (2010) · Reddit: UMass MMI Interview (2020)

All sources · 26 plus 6 applicant threads

Applicant threads are linked under each question.