Three hundred students will be welcomed into the Wayne State University School of Medicine Class of 2014 during the traditional White Coat Ceremony on Saturday, Aug. 7, at 11 a.m. at Orchestra Hall, 3711 Woodward Ave., Detroit, MI 48201.

Surrounded by family and friends, these students will be cloaked with short white coats to identify them as medical students during the next four years. Twenty-eight of the students have been invited to participate in the ceremony with parents who are School of Medicine alumni.

After receiving their white coats, the students will recite the Hippocratic Oath, pledging to practice medicine ethically.

The incoming class is diverse, including students born in 29 countries and having already conducted research at institutions such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, NASA and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, as well as having volunteered for a wide range of causes.

Founded in 1868, the Wayne State University School of Medicine is the largest single-campus medical school in the nation, with more than 1,000 medical students. In addition to undergraduate medical education, the school offers master's degree, Ph.D. and M.D.-Ph.D. programs in 14 areas of basic science to about 400 students annually.