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MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Natural Science

Everything to Know about MD-PhD Programs

I am sure you have heard about MD programs as a pre-health student but what about MD-PhD programs? An MD-PhD (Doctorate of Medicine and Philosophy) is a dual doctorate degree program for students who are interested in careers that most refer to as “physician-scientists”.

Students who graduate from MD-PhD programs typically go on to become faculty members at medical schools, universities, and research institutes. These programs prepare you for careers where you will spend most of your time doing research in addition to caring for patients. If you enjoy research, this may be the path for you!

What prerequisites should I take?

  • MD-PhD programs require the same courses similar to what medical schools want. These include your biology, chemistry, biochemistry, physics, and more. You can choose to major in anything as long as you complete the required pre-requisite courses listed. And it is highly recommended to choose a few MD-PhD programs you may be interested in so that you know if you are on track.

Research

  • Research is an essential component to your application into an MD-PhD program. Research experience and letters from research mentors or faculty are taken highly into account. You must be able to write essays about your various research experiences and talk about them during your interviews. This demonstrates your will and desire of wanting to go into a more research-focused field of medicine.

 

MCAT and GPA

  • Generally, you need a strong MCAT and GPA when applying to these programs. Similar to the medical school application process, you want to be able to exemplify that you were able to handle the science-heavy courses during your undergraduate years. And that includes being able to balance the other requirements such as research and volunteering. The MCAT itself also takes a lot of time and dedication to studying, where most students take the MCAT during their Junior year on top completing their upper-level pre-requisite courses.
  • The average MCAT and GPA scores for MD-PhD programs are below (from Princeton Review):
    • Total MCAT: 513.9
    • GPA Science: 3.75
    • GPA Non-Science: 3.82

Application Timeline

  • June: Applicants can begin submitting their primary application through AMCAS
  • October–March: MD-PhD applicant interviews
  • December–March: Admissions decisions sent to applicants
  • March–April: MD-PhD final decisions
  • June–August: MD-PHD program journey begins

*Note that this timeline can look different depending on each applicant and program*

Overall, these programs are great to look into if you are wanting to get into the clinical aspect of medicine that also combines a high amount of research. These programs are funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH) so students who are admitted to these highly competitive programs most likely receive full tuition and living expenses covered.

The difference between MD and MD-PhD is being able to describe your passion for wanting to pursue this program of medicine and what research experience you have obtained leading up to applying.

Source:

https://www.princetonreview.com/med-school-advice/applying-to-md-phd-programs

Feel free to make an appointment with an advisor if you want to look more into this!

 

By

Kaylee