The third-year curriculum begins with a five-week sequence of introductory courses preparatory for the clinical curriculum that follows immediately thereafter. The first two of those weeks are dedicated to two concurrent courses, Clinical Pharmacology and Anesthesia, Ventilation and Circulation. Description of these courses can be found in the section dedicated to the educational program of the respective departments.

The final three weeks of the introductory period are taken up by the Introductory Clerkship taught by the department of Medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center and several of its affiliates. In July, the clinical rotations begin. These consist of 56 weeks of clerkships lasting from four to eight weeks each in all the major clinical fields, including medicine, primary care, neurology, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, psychiatry, and general surgery and surgical specialties. These are complemented by short courses in clinical ethics, health care systems and anesthesiology. Students completing this clinical core curriculum are sufficiently acquainted with the various clinical specialties to identify their primary areas of interest, both in the clinical and basic science fields. Accordingly, they are prepared to plan an educational program for their final year in medical school that is best suited to their interests.

In the spring of the third year, each student chooses a senior faculty member as an advisor to help in planning the fourth-year program.