Media Advisory

WHAT:
The Wayne State University School of Medicine will officially welcome its freshmen medical students at the annual White Coat Ceremony. Surrounded by family and friends, 290 new physicians-in-training making up the Class of 2018 will take turns on stage getting cloaked in a hip-length, three-button white coat meant to identify them as medical students for the next four years. The new class includes 173 men and 117 women ranging from 20 to 46 years old and representing 15 states and Canada. The most common name for male students is John; for females, it is Alexandra, Amanda and Monica. While all the students have earned an undergraduate degree, 48 also have a master's degree and three have a doctorate, including one juris doctor. The class includes a competitive rifle shooter, hockey players, dancers, musicians, painters, a fitness assistant to the disabled, an emergency medical technician, a construction worker and a perfusion assistant.

WHEN: 
Friday, Aug. 1, 2014
Doors open 9:30 a.m.
(Remarks to begin at 11 a.m.; coating begins at approximately 11:40 a.m.)

WHERE: 
Orchestra Hall
3711 Woodward Ave., Detroit

VISUALS: 
Hundreds of medical students and their families and friends; School of Medicine and Wayne State University leadership.

About Wayne State University School of Medicine
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.

Wayne State University is a premier urban research institution offering more than 370 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to nearly 28,000 students.