MURFRESBORO, Tenn. — In the January edition of “Out of the Blue,” Middle Tennessee State University’s television magazine show, guest Eric Miller updates viewers on MTSU’s Medical School Early Acceptance Program with partner Meharry Medical College in Nashville.

In this academic program to eventually place new physicians in rural areas across Tennessee, Meharry selects incoming MTSU freshmen for a fast-track to complete their bachelor’s degree at MTSU and then directly enter medical school upon graduation.

You can watch the segment here:

“This is an accelerated BS/MD program we have with Meharry,” said Miller, a College of Basic and Applied Sciencesadvisor and Medical School Early Acceptance Program coordinator, in the interview with “Out of the Blue” host Andrew Oppmann, MTSU vice president of marketing and communications.

“We are looking for students who are interested in becoming primary care physicians in rural and underserved parts of Tennessee,” Miller added. “They really need to be interested in giving back to their communities. And that’s something I think the state was interested in when they invested money into this. They invested a significant sum, which we are very grateful for, so that we can have this program.”

The students spend three years at MTSU and four at Meharry, followed by a three-year service component. Selected students receive full tuition and fees paid for by the program at both MTSU and Meharry.

The original group moving from MTSU to Meharry will graduate in 2026, Miller said, adding that the MTSU-Meharry committee is considering 23 prospects who will start their quest this fall.

In the fall, high school seniors need to apply by Dec. 1 to be considered for the 2026-27 academic year, Miller said. They have separate MTSU and MSEAP applications to complete, an essay describing how the accelerated program helps them achieve their goals and provide letters of recommendation from teachers or people in their community. The committee will interview them to get to know them better.

“We need students who are strong science students, who are strong students overall and who really performed admirably in their high school career,” Miller said.

“Out of the Blue” is available anytime on the university’s YouTube channel, the True Blue TV channel, Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV. It also airs on Murfreesboro cable Channel 9 daily at 6 and 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.; NewsChannel5+ at 6:30 p.m. Sundays; via streaming on MTSU’s Jazz Network on WMOT HD2 and through WMOT.org at 7 a.m. on the first Sunday of each month; and on other cable outlets in Middle Tennessee, so check local listings.

It is also available as a podcast on iTunes and Google Play and as individual interview segments on Spotify at https://spoti.fi/453hxg3.

Watch previous episodes of “Out of the Blue” at https://mtsunews.com/out-of-the-blue.

— Randy Weiler (Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu)