Liberal arts undergraduates from Yale-NUS College will find it easier to pursue a career in medicine with the launch of a tie-up between the college and Duke-NUS Medical School.

The two schools have jointly launched a new pathway for liberal arts students who plan to go into medicine, in a bid to "shape future clinicians who appreciate the inter-connectedness of the sciences, social sciences and humanities in medical practice".

The pathway will start in August and prospective students can apply via the Yale-NUS undergraduate application, said the schools in a statement yesterday. Successful applicants will get an admission offer to Yale-NUS' four-year undergraduate programme and a conditional admission to Duke-NUS' Doctor of Medicine (MD) graduate programme.

"Applicants will be assessed on their motivation for medicine, their passion for community service, and academic and leadership accomplishments and potential," the schools said.

At the end of their third year at Yale-NUS, students will submit a formal application to Duke-NUS for the graduate programme to "secure their conditional admission".

Under the pathway, students will graduate with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) or Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree from Yale-NUS, and an MD degree from Duke-NUS.

Yale-NUS also has partnerships with the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Yale School of Public Health and Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies to offer concurrent degree programmes in the fields of public policy, public health and environmental studies.

It also offers a double degree programme in law, in a partnership with the National University of Singapore's Faculty of Law.

Correction note: The headline has been edited for accuracy.