Student Osteopathic Medical Association

What Student Osteopathic Medical Association does

The Student Osteopathic Medical Association (SOMA) is a private nonprofit professional membership association founded in 1970 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It operates as the nation's largest network of osteopathic medical students, claiming to represent the collective interests of more than 35,000 U.S. osteopathic medical students across 50+ chapters organized into five geographic regions. SOMA is officially affiliated with the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) and holds direct representation in the AOA House of Delegates, positioning it as the policy voice for osteopathic medical students at the national level. The organization is student-led and student-driven, with volunteer student leadership running both local chapters and the national body under a National President and regional trustees.

SOMA operates a three-tier membership structure: active SOMA membership for osteopathic medical students (largely auto-enrolled at participating colleges of osteopathic medicine), Pre-SOMA for undergraduate pre-medical students (one-time $25 fee), and Alumni membership for graduates priced at $25/year for residents and fellows and $100/year for attending physicians. Revenue is generated from membership dues, national event registration (DO Day on the Hill, Summer Leadership Meeting, OMED, Spring Convention), merchandise sales through thesomashop.merchorders.com, and corporate partnerships that include licensing portions of the SOMA Masterfile to healthcare-related companies plus member-discount sponsorships with organizations such as Juno (student loans), Kaplan, Pixorize, Exam Kracker, and Jaanuu. The product portfolio includes the mentorship program, scholarships (administered in part via the SOMA Foundation), the SOMA Policy Database, community outreach and overdose prevention committees, and Omega Beta Iota (the affiliated osteopathic health policy honor society).

The organization is supported by a 42-person staff and reaches members through a chapter-based distribution model at U.S. osteopathic medical schools, a self-serve online membership portal, social media presence on Facebook, X, and Instagram, and a calendar of national conferences. Pricing across tiers is intentionally low to maximize member capture rather than per-member monetization, with the economic model relying on volume, event fees, and corporate partnership/licensing income. The 2021 establishment of the National Pre-SOMA Standing Committee signals continued investment in expanding the upstream pre-medical student pipeline.

Name

Student Osteopathic Medical Association

Legal name

Student Osteopathic Medical Association

Website

https://studentdo.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

SOMA is a nonprofit membership association founded in 1970 representing more than 35,000 osteopathic medical students across 50+ U.S. medical schools. Affiliated with the American Osteopathic Association, it provides advocacy representation, professional development, scholarships, and networking across Pre-SOMA, student, and alumni tiers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: SOMA generates revenue through membership fees from osteopathic medical students, pre-medical students (Pre-SOMA), and alumni members. Student membership is often auto-enrolled at osteopathic medical schools.
2. Event Registration: Revenue generated from registration fees for national events including DO Day on the Hill, Summer Leadership Meeting, OMED conference, and Spring Convention.
3. Merchandise Sales: SOMA operates an online shop (thesomashop.merchorders.com) selling branded merchandise to members.
4. Corporate Partnerships: SOMA licenses portions of its Masterfile to health care related companies and maintains partnerships with sponsors offering member discounts (insurance, loan programs, educational materials).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

SOMA is a national, AOA-affiliated nonprofit membership association that provides osteopathic medical students with advocacy representation, professional development, scholarships, mentorship, and networking. It operates a three-tier membership structure (Pre-SOMA for undergraduates, SOMA for medical students, and Alumni for graduates) and delivers programming through a chapter-based model at 50+ U.S. colleges of osteopathic medicine, supported by national conferences and an online member portal.

Product overview

SOMA is a student-led, AOA-affiliated national organization serving osteopathic medical students with a three-tier membership structure: SOMA membership for osteopathic medical students, Pre-SOMA membership for undergraduate pre-medical students, and Alumni membership for graduates. The organization provides advocacy representation to the AOA, professional development programs, scholarships, mentorship initiatives, policy databases, and annual conferences including DO Day on the Hill and OMED. Pre-SOMA extends reach to undergraduates through mentorship programs, chapter development, and test prep partnerships. The portfolio operates across five geographic regions with over 50 osteopathic medical school chapters representing more than 35,000 students.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Pre-SOMA: The undergraduate membership section of SOMA, serving as the official and only undergraduate pre-medical organization directly affiliated with SOMA and AOA.

Products and services

• SOMA (Student Osteopathic Medical Association) Membership The primary membership offering for osteopathic medical students at U.S. colleges of osteopathic medicine, providing direct representation to the American Osteopathic Association (AOA), advocacy, professional development, conferences, scholarships, mentorship, and networking opportunities for over 35,000 students. Many schools auto-enroll students as members.
• Pre-SOMA Membership

Quantifiable outcome

• 35,000+ osteopathic medical students represented to key stakeholders in medical education and the profession

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• American Osteopathic Association (AOA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSOMA is an official AOA-affiliated organization with direct representation to the AOA. This affiliation enables SOMA to advocate for osteopathic medical students at the highest levels of the profession and provides access to AOA resources, events, and policy-making processes.
• SOMA FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe SOMA Foundation is the charitable arm of SOMA, supporting scholarships, awards, and initiatives that advance osteopathic medical education and the profession.
• Omega Beta IotaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOmega Beta Iota is listed as an associated organization, suggesting collaboration on political affairs and advocacy efforts.
• JunominorGTM or Marketing PartnerJuno is a student loan collective bargaining organization founded in 2018 that offers SOMA members access to better private student loan rates and terms through collective negotiation. SOMA members receive special rates and rate match guarantee through Juno's program.
• KaplanminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPre-SOMA members receive discounts on Kaplan test prep materials for MCAT and other entrance exams.
• PixorizeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPre-SOMA members receive discounts on Pixorize visual learning resources for medical school preparation.
• Exam KrackerminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPre-SOMA members receive discounts on Exam Kracker test prep materials for medical school entrance exams.
• JaanuuminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSOMA members receive 25% discounts on Jaanuu scrubs and medical apparel products.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS): A national honor society recognizing medical students exemplifying humanistic care, with chapters at osteopathic and allopathic schools. Operates adjacent to SOMA in student recognition, leadership development, and chapter-based programming.
• American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM): The institutional membership organization representing the colleges of osteopathic medicine where SOMA's chapters reside. Operates upstream of SOMA and partners on curriculum, admissions, and advocacy across the osteopathic education ecosystem.
• National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners (NBOME): The assessment and licensing body for osteopathic medicine that administers COMLEX examinations. Touches the same osteopathic student population as SOMA through standardized testing, career milestones, and policy advocacy.

Direct peers

• Student National Medical Association (SNMA): A national student-led organization for medical students of color and underrepresented communities, structurally analogous to SOMA with chapter-based membership, conferences, and advocacy programming.
• American Medical Association (AMA) Medical Student Section: The student arm of the AMA, providing MD students with representation, advocacy, and member benefits within the dominant allopathic professional association — directly parallel to SOMA's role within the osteopathic ecosystem.
• American Medical Student Association (AMSA): The largest independent national student-led organization for MD-allopathic medical students, mirroring SOMA's role in advocacy, professional development, and chapter-based membership for the parallel MD degree pathway.

Broad incumbents

• American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians (ACOFP): A specialty osteopathic professional society with student membership and resident engagement programs, comparable to SOMA's role in shaping osteopathic career pathways and providing student-level programming.
• American Osteopathic Association (AOA): The primary professional association for the osteopathic profession and SOMA's parent affiliate. Operates across the entire osteopathic profession (physicians, students, training) where SOMA focuses exclusively on the student segment.

Emerging players

• National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA): A national professional association representing Hispanic physicians and health professionals, with student programming and chapters that partially overlap SOMA's mission of supporting minority medical trainees.
• Phi Chi Medical Fraternity: One of the oldest and largest medical fraternities with active chapters across both MD and DO schools, providing professional networking, service, and social programming partially comparable to SOMA's chapter-based engagement model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/NationalSOMA
• Facebookfacebook.com/NationalSOMA
• Instagraminstagram.com/National_SOMA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/student-osteopathic-medical-association

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Student Osteopathic Medical Association