COMBINED MD/PHD PROGRAM

Program Director: Mario A. Inchiosa, Jr., Ph.D.

The M.D./Ph.D. program at New York Medical College is intended to provide the opportunity for research-oriented medical students to pursue both these degrees. The program is designed to allow maximal flexibility for students to integrate the two programs. M.D./Ph.D. candidates may pursue their research training in any of the Graduate School's six Ph.D. programs.

Medical students who are interested in research and are seriously considering a dual program should begin research as early as possible, preferably during the summer period between the first and second years. A Medical Student Research Elective Program, which is funded by the Medical School, provides stipends for this purpose. Students are not formally admitted to the Ph.D. program until they have successfully completed all of the preclinical subjects and Part I of the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE).

An application to the Graduate School of Basic Medical Sciences may be initiated at any time during the first two years of preclinical studies. The student must apply to one of the six basic science Ph.D. programs.

In a typical case, the student begins full-time graduate work in the summer following the second year of medical school. The student must meet graduate course requirements and other requirements as specified by the student's Ph.D. program. The student must pass a Qualifying Examination in the discipline of the Ph.D. degree.

The student's dissertation committee determines the point where the investigative work is considered complete. The Office of the Associate Dean for Student Affairs works with the student to facilitate entry to the clinical rotations and to determine the number of months of elective time during the third and fourth years of the medical school curriculum that may be devoted to or traded for preparation of the oral defense of the dissertation. It is strongly recommended that the candidate complete and defend the Ph.D. dissertation before beginning the clinical clerkships of the medical school curriculum, although some flexibility in scheduling the defense is allowed. The two degrees are awarded jointly by the Medical School and the Graduate School, after the requirements for both degrees are successfully completed.

The major activity of the Ph.D. portion of the program is, of course, the doctoral dissertation research and preparation of the dissertation itself. Students should expect to spend a minimum of two years in the Ph.D. portion of the program, although three to three and one-half years is a more typical period, based on our experience with previous M.D./Ph.D. candidates.

The financial factors involved for the medical student who considers extending the period of training are substantial. M.D./Ph.D. candidates receive the standard pre-doctoral stipend during the period of full-time graduate work. A full tuition scholarship is given for graduate school courses. In addition, a full tuition scholarship is provided for the 3rd and 4th years of the medical curriculum after the Ph.D. requirements have been completed.