DETROIT — Ten students will be able to earn their medical degrees for free at Wayne State University each year.

The university announced Thursday it will pay for the education of 10 students from undergraduate studies to medical school through a program called Wayne Med-Direct. 

The program is intended to assist talented students from low-income backgrounds through medical school, after which they can work on addressing issues related to health disparities. 

It will include four years of paid undergraduate tuition, four years of paid undergraduate room and board costs in university housing and four years of paid medical school tuition, with savings for each student totaling about $251,000.

The program will admit 10 new students annually, starting next summer. The university is now accepting applications until Jan. 15.

“I want Wayne State to be known as the place for training biomedical scientists and MDs,” Wayne State President M. Roy Wilson told the Detroit Free Press. “We want kids who can go anywhere, but choose to go to Wayne.”

Acceptance requirements include a minimum 3.5 GPA and 1340 SAT or 30 ACT score. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents and incoming freshmen. It is open to students from anywhere, but preference will be given to students from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds who are interested in studying health disparities. 

“We expect a large part of each cohort will be underrepresented minorities,” Wilson told the Free Press. “That will also help us in terms of diversity in the medical school over time.”

Ambika Mathur, dean of Wayne State’s Graduate School and one of the creators of Wayne Med-Direct, will help oversee the specialized programming to ensure students are prepared when they reach the School of Medicine.

“Incoming freshman who are admitted to the program will arrive on campus in the summer to participate in summer enrichment courses focused on chemistry, biology, physics and writing,” Mathur said. “In addition to their early arrival on campus, Wayne Med-Direct cohorts will participate in seminars, workshops and hands-on research and clinical training in the School of Medicine throughout their undergraduate careers.”