Guide to Preparing for and Applying to MD/PhD Programs
http://www.sciencenet.emory.edu/undergrad/mdphd.pdf
© 2002 Bryce Mendelsohn
your area of interest. You can talk with them, or have a trusted faculty member give you suggestions of labs that are helpful and
good to undergraduates. Before entering a lab, be sure that your mentor understands that you want a real research project, and
do not want to wash test tubes (but be nicer than that). Some undergraduates do get misused.
Do I have to be published?
It certainly does look good to be published, and I have my suspicions that some schools may prefer it. However, for most if not
all schools, if you are working on a project, have made good progress, and can talk about it, you’re 99% as good as published.
In general, if you have made progress on a project, you will eventually publish it, and in the meantime you can tell the schools
that you’re going to publish, and that makes them happy. In summary, if you are able to start research earlier so you can publish
before you begin applying, more power to you. If not, don’t worry.
What other extracurricular activities should I pursue?
Besides research, the only MD/PhD-specific extracurricular I can think of is teaching. While certainly not mandatory, if you
want to go into academic medicine, it might help to tutor for a few semesters. The multi-cultural office hires student tutors,
and there’s always Orgo Mentors. Other than that, extracurriculars such as community service and volunteering at medical
establishments are the same as applying to regular medical school.
I’m interested in biomedical engineering. Are there any MD/PhD programs for me?
Yes! Many schools offer a PhD in some area of biomedical engineering, biophysics, etc. Significantly, some programs offer the
joint degree in cooperation with another nearby school. I believe that Emory has a program with Georgia Tech, UCLA has a
program with Caltech, and Harvard has a program with MIT, to name a few. Just be sure to indicate on your secondary application
that you are interested in biomedical engineering, so when the school invites you to interview, they can arrange for you to visit
the engineering school.
What’s this MSTP thing I keep hearing about?
MSTP stands for Medical Scientist Training Program. These are MD/PhD programs, and are specifically funded by the NIH.
Schools with these programs are usually among the best, but don’t discard a school as being beneath you just because it isn’t
MSTP. There are around 39 MSTP schools right now. The number changes a lot. Go to
http://www.nigms.nih.gov/funding/mstp.html to see a list of NIH funded MD/PhD programs.
The other main difference between school-sponsored and NIH sponsored (MSTP) MD/PhD programs is that with MSTP,
usually all of the MD/PhD candidates receive free tuition and a stipend (although this is not universal). For school-sponsored
MD/PhD programs, be sure and check how the school funds its candidates. Sometimes no one gets funding. Sometimes everyone
does. Sometimes you get funding while in grad school, but not while in medical school. Look into it. The University of
Cincinnati has compiled some of this information. Go to http://www.med.uc.edu/pstp/2k/mdphdprograms.stm, which has
information about a number of other programs. http://www.med.uc.edu/pstp/2k/fundingothers.stm also at the University of
Cincinnati is a good place to look at funding.
AMCAS starts accepting applications in June, but when should I submit mine?
Right away! The advantages are tremendous. Your AMCAS application can be turned in anywhere from the beginning of June
until around October 1. Submit it as soon as humanly possible. You’ll have plenty of time to work on it in April and May.
The same goes for your secondaries. Some schools give you a deadline of a few weeks after you receive the secondary, but most
give you months. Turn them in quickly, within 2 weeks if possible.
By turning all your applications in early, you:
• will get your secondary applications earlier, and can finish most of them before school starts, which will save you more
headaches than you can imagine.
• are somewhat more likely to be accepted, since many schools operate on a rolling admissions process. They will have
many more spots open if you apply early, and you will be among the first they interview, instead of in the middle, or last.
• can find out what kind of applicant you are early in the game. If you’re not sure whether you’ll get interviews everywhere
or nowhere, applying early will tell you this quickly. Based on the responses from schools, you can decide to drop some schools,
or schedule your top choices earlier. Or, if you don’t get many interviews, you’re more likely to get into the school you do
interview at, and you can initiate backup plans (such as taking a year off) sooner.
• save yourself so much inconvenience with interviews. The sooner you get offered interviews, the more flexibility you
have to schedule them.
• might even get accepted in October, and be able to relax, or at the very least, withdraw from some schools and save
yourself a lot of flying and interviewing.