Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q) recently enrolled its sixth and largest medical class to date -- 41 students, including a 16-year-old -- and has added a third year to its two-year premedical program for students who enroll in August 2010 or later.

Students who complete the premedical program and four-year medical education earn a Cornell medical degree. The pre-med program focuses on the sciences basic to medicine, and the four-year program follows the curriculum of WCMC in New York City. There are separate admissions processes for both programs.

"The three-year premedical curriculum will provide greater course breadth, more opportunities for research and independent study, more time to acquire English language skills and greater opportunity for academic success," said WCMC-Q interim dean Javaid Sheikh.

After the first semester, highly motivated students with proven academic performance based on their first semester grades will have the option to take an accelerated track to finish in two years.

"We believe the new curriculum provides the most flexibility to best meet the needs of our students," said Sheikh.

Students also can take a one-year program after high school with intensive classes in basic sciences, math and English to prepare for the premedical and medical programs. Students who complete premedical courses but do not enroll in the medical program can transfer their credits to another university. They are given assistance identifying the best plan of action for them based on their academic record, and support to help them identify alternative career options.

Meanwhile, the Class of 2013 took part in the annual White Coat Ceremony earlier this month -- a traditional rite of passage in which the new doctors-in-training first don the white coat and stethoscope emblematic of their new roles as doctors.

"When the students wear the white coat for the first time, they are actively committing themselves to the cause of excellent patient care and dedicated research," said Sheikh. "They are joining the ranks of doctors, who live by time-honored principles of the profession."

Among the new class of medical students is Iqbal Assaad, 16, the youngest medical student in the college's history. Hailing from Lebanon, Assad entered WCMC-Q's premedical program after high school at age 12.

"After studying really hard for two years, it's just nice to know that your dream is coming true," Assad said.

Since this year's ceremony took place during the holy month of Ramadan, it was followed with an Iftar dinner, where students, their families, faculty and deans of the college joined together to break the day's fast.

The evening's events were part of a three-day orientation for the new WCMC-Q medical students. Other orientation activities included introductory and social meetings to help the students get to know each other and the college community at large.