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Financial Support for Cost of Attendance

Knight-Hennessy scholars receive funding for up to three years for any graduate degree(s) at Stanford. This funding applies to the degree(s) to which scholars are  preparing to enroll at the time of scholar selection .

During each of the first three years of graduate study, Knight-Hennessy scholars receive several types of funding:

• A fellowship applied directly to cover tuition and associated fees
• A stipend for living and academic expenses (such as room and board, books, academic supplies, instructional materials, local transportation, and reasonable personal expenses)
• A travel stipend intended to cover an economy-class ticket for one annual trip to and from Stanford

Additional funding specific to certain years:

• Newly enrolling scholars receive a one-time relocation stipend intended to offset some of the costs associated with relocation to the area and/or technology purchases.
• Scholars in their second and third years may apply for supplemental funds to support academic enrichment activities  (e.g., conference travel).​

Knight-Hennessy Scholars (KHS) provides funding for the degree program listed in the initial KHS admission letter. Scholars who wish to enroll in an additional graduate program may apply to KHS to receive additional funding up to the maximum of three years. This additional funding is not guaranteed. 

If a scholar is admitted to a degree program that exceeds three years — such as an MD, PhD, or Stanford dual- or joint-degree program — then funding is based on the graduate degree program’s standard funding commitment. This varies by department and school, as indicated in the chart below. Please contact the graduate program with specific questions about their funding commitment. 

*For MD students : 

• The Medical School will fund the remaining years, consistent with its standard funding commitment to MD students, which consists of tuition support and stipend. 

What is Not Covered

• Fellowship stipends  are taxable, but not subject to withholding (except for international students from a country without a tax treaty). Please carefully review the tax information at  the Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education  and be sure to budget accordingly for any tax responsibilities. Knight-Hennessy Scholars does not reimburse students for taxes.
• Stanford Financial Aid Office  graduate student budget
• Stanford Financial Services  Tax Information
• Bechtel International Center  Tax Information for International Students

PIease contact KHS with any questions about how funding might apply to specific individual circumstances. 

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• International Applicants

Stanford welcomes applicants from all around the world. International students are an integral part of our student body and contribute to a dynamic environment in which to learn and live.

Members of our admission staff specialize in evaluating educational systems from countries around the world and will consider your application within the context of the resources available to you. We recognize the educational procedures within your school and country as well as cultural and regional differences. Regardless of citizenship, applicants are reviewed in the context and country where they attend high school.

Please find frequently asked questions about applying as an international student below. You can find general application information in the First-Year Applicants and Transfer Applicants sections.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between applying as an international student versus as a domestic student.

Other than financial aid, the application process is the same for all applicants regardless of citizenship or country of residence. Review and follow our First-Year Applicant Instructions or our Transfer Applicant Instructions .

For international citizens who indicate on their application that they will be applying for financial aid, that request will be a factor in our admission evaluation, making the process more selective. Financial aid at Stanford is based on the family’s demonstrated financial need and we will meet the full need of all admitted students regardless of citizenship.

U.S. citizens, U.S. permanent residents, and undocumented/DACA students are considered domestic applicants in our application process. If you are a U.S. citizen or a U.S. permanent resident living and attending school abroad, you are considered a domestic applicant for financial aid purposes, while your application will be read in the context of your secondary school.

Am I eligible for financial aid?

Stanford is committed to meeting demonstrated financial need for all admitted students (regardless of citizenship) who have requested financial aid during the application process. We do not offer merit scholarships outside of a limited number of athletic scholarships.

If you are not a U.S. citizen, legal permanent resident or an undocumented student, your request for financial aid will be a factor in our admission evaluation. While financial aid resources are limited for international citizens, Stanford does offer admission to a number of these applicants each year. International citizens who indicate on their applications that they will not be applying for financial aid and subsequently are admitted are not eligible to apply for financial aid at any time during their four years at Stanford. However, if your citizenship status changes during the time you are enrolled as an undergraduate, and you become eligible for federal student aid, you may also be considered for need-based financial aid starting in the quarter during which your citizenship status changes.

Stanford is need-blind for all U.S. citizens, U.S. permanent residents, and undocumented students regardless of where they attend high school. This means a request for financial aid will not be a factor in our admission evaluation. Visit our financial aid website and the student budget page to learn more about the cost of attendance and find the required application form.

What should I do if I have submitted a United States permanent residency application or anticipate a change in citizenship status during the application process?

Please select the citizenship status option on the Common App that applies to you at the time you submit your application. If your permanent residency application is approved after you submit your application, please email [email protected] with a copy of your green card attached and we will update your application to reflect your new status.

How do I apply from a school with an international curriculum?

Members of our admission staff specialize in reading applications from countries around the world. We are familiar with the nuances of different education systems and consider your application within the context of the resources available to you. We will consider the educational procedures within your school and country, as well as cultural and regional differences. There is no need to have your marks converted into an American Grade Point Average (GPA).

While there are no courses or minimum scores required to secure admission to Stanford, we recommend completing the necessary coursework to apply to a university program for a bachelor's degree in the country you are currently studying in. You must also be in possession of a secondary school diploma (or your country’s equivalent) by the time you enroll in the fall.

To learn more about our selection process and the recommended high school curriculum, please see our suggestions for Academic Preparation .

Please have a school official send us all available internal and external final and predicted marks from your secondary school. If you have trouble accessing your application portal, your school may also email official documents to [email protected] .

When should I apply?

All of our admitted students enroll in the fall term. We do not offer Winter or Spring Quarter enrollment. You must be in possession of a secondary school diploma (or your country’s equivalent) by the time you enroll. You do not need to have it by the time you submit your application. Please refer to the Requirements and Deadlines page for specific deadlines. If you have enrolled either full-time or as a degree-seeking student after graduating from high school and have received credit, you will need to apply as a transfer student. Refer to the transfer application deadlines .

If you are applying to Stanford University as a first-year applicant, you cannot attend another University or College where you receive credit after graduating high school. If you attend another University or College between your high school graduation and first year at Stanford, you must withdraw from that University/College before you receive any credit.

Do I need to translate my school documents into English?

Yes, transcripts and teacher recommendations must be translated into English. Original copies must also be submitted when applicable. Applicants cannot translate the documents themselves. We recommend asking your English teacher or other school official to translate for you.

What type of high school curriculum should I take?

We do not have a preference for a specific curriculum (A-Level, IB, AP, National, etc.). You should complete the necessary coursework to apply to a university program for a bachelor’s degree in the country you are currently studying in. You can visit our website for more information about academic preparation .

What should I do if my school does not have a guidance counselor?

If you do not have a guidance counselor, you may have another school official (such as a principal or teacher) submit the counselor letter of recommendation for you.

Is standardized testing (ACT/SAT) required?

For students applying for enrollment in the fall of 2024 and 2025, we will not require ACT or SAT scores for first-year or transfer applicants. Stanford will review applications with or without standardized test scores, leaving the decision in the hands of the applicant.

If you do not submit scores from the ACT or SAT, your application will not be at a disadvantage. If you take the ACT or SAT, and you feel that your scores are a positive reflection of your academic preparedness, you are welcome to self-report them.

However, for students applying for enrollment in the fall of 2026 and future years, we will require either an ACT or SAT score for all undergraduate applicants.

Refer to the Standardized Testing pages for first-year and transfer applicants for general guidelines.

Note: Stanford reviews applications using either official or self-reported test scores for all applicants. Please self-report your highest scores in the Testing section of either the Common Application. All official scores will be required if you are offered admission and choose to enroll.

Are English proficiency exams required?

No, we do not require any English proficiency exams. While these exams (TOEFL, IELTS, Duolingo English Test, etc.) are useful in helping us determine our applicants’ English proficiency, you may feel your fluency will be clear in other aspects of your application. We have no preferred proficiency exam. Generally, we receive English proficiency exam results from applicants whose native language is not English and/or the primary language of instruction at their secondary school is not English. Please note that fluency in English is a prerequisite for admission to Stanford.

If you wish to take an English proficiency exam but feel that the cost is a financial burden for you, we offer fee waivers for the Duolingo English Test. We are only able to offer fee waivers to students who have demonstrated financial need through a complete submitted application. You must indicate on your application that you plan to apply for financial aid. Once you have submitted your application, please log in to your Stanford portal for more information on fee waivers. In order to ensure your test results reach us in time, please request a fee waiver no later than a week after the application deadline.

How do I apply for a visa?

Applicants who are international citizens will receive information detailing the student visa application process if offered admission to Stanford. To learn more about the visa and immigration process, please visit the Bechtel International Center: Immigration website .

What resources are offered to international students?

Bechtel International Center is Stanford's hub for international students and families. Please visit their website to learn about the many networks of support available to international students.

Can I attend Stanford as an exchange student?

We do not have any exchange programs for undergraduates. If you would like to study at Stanford, you will need to apply as a transfer student, or consider graduate programs, the Stanford Continuing Studies program, or Stanford Summer Session. Please note that admission to the summer program is separate from Stanford’s undergraduate admission and does not provide an advantage in the undergraduate admission process.

The Office of Undergraduate Admission does not partner or work with paid agents or credentialing services. It is expected that all students complete their application materials without the use of such services .

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Visiting Clerkships

Ivs program - how to apply.

Click the button below ( Go to secure application form ) to begin your online application. You can save your online application and access it any time up until you are ready to submit. Note that SlideRoom will request that you submit the non-refundable $300 application fee when you are ready to submit your application.

The online application via SlideRoom provides all the information required for department reviewers to evaluate your application. There are specific links within the portal which allow you to inform your recommenders to submit their letters of recommendation on your behalf.

Please note:

• Submitting an application does not guarantee that you will participate in the IVS Program
• Applications reviewed and approved by the clerkship to participate in an elective does not guarantee that there will be available rotation spots to be scheduled into by the School of Medicine Registrar's Office
• Incomplete online applications will not be reviewed
• The secure application form link below, only links to an active current application cycle

Required Materials

All required materials are built into the online application portal. This list is provided for your information only:

• Completed online application
• Dean's Statement Form
• Personal Statement ( succinctly detail your motivations and goal objectives )
• Letters of Recommendation
• Curriculum Vitae
• Official medical school transcript

 IVS application submittals and reviews are performed online. Do not mail a hard copy.

2024-2025 Visiting IVS MD Student Elective Clerkship Dates

Summer Quarter AY2024-25: CLOSED

Summer Clerkship Quarter in 2024:

• Online Application opens via SlideRoom: January 8 to February 12, 2024
• Deadline to submit for the Summer 2024 Quarter is February 12, 2024
• Summer 2024 Quarter Visiting students are notified by May 15, 2024

Autumn Quarter AY2024-25: CLOSED

Autumn Clerkship Quarter in 2024:

• Online Application opens via SlideRoom: May 1 to May 30, 2024
• Deadline to submit for the Autumn 2024 Quarter is May 30, 2024
• Autumn 2024 Quarter Visiting students are notified by August 2, 2024

Winter Quarter AY2024-25: Opens Aug 1 - Aug 30, 2024

Winter Clerkship Quarter in 2025:

• Online Application opens via SlideRoom: August 1 to August 30, 2024
• Deadline to submit for the Winter 2025 Quarter is August 30, 2024
• Winter 2025 Quarter Visiting students are notified by November 1, 2024

Spring Quarter AY2024-25: Opens Nov 1 - Nov 30, 2024

Spring Clerkship Quarter in 2025:

• Online Application opens via SlideRoom: November 1 to November 30, 2024
• Deadline to submit for the Spring 2025 Quarter is November 30, 2024
• Spring 2025 Quarter Visiting students are notified by January 27, 2025

Biomedical Data Science Graduate Program Overview

The Biomedical Data Science Training Program is an interdisciplinary graduate and postdoctoral training program, part of the Department of Biomedical Data Science at Stanford University’s School of Medicine.

Our Mission

History of our graduate program, employment in biomedical data science, directions to dbds, contact information, our educational mission.

The mission of DBDS is to train the next generation of research leaders in Biomedical Data Science. Our students gain knowledge of the scholarly informatics literature and the application requirements of specific areas within biology and medicine. They learn to design and implement novel methods that are generalizable to a defined class of problems, focusing on the acquisition, representation, retrieval, and analysis of biomedical information. We also require training in understanding ethical, social, and legal issues and consequences of research. We seek to attract diverse candidates from all backgrounds and experiences.

What is Biomedical Data Science?

Biomedical Data Science is a broad term comprising multiple areas.

• Bioinformatics develops novel methods for problems in basic biology.
• Translational Bioinformatics moves developments in our understanding of disease from basic research to clinical care.
• Clinical Informatics develops methods and tools directly applied to patient care.
• Public Health Informatics works on challenging problems from health systems and populations.
• Imaging Informatics addresses intelligent management, interpretation, and annotation of biomedical images.

Take a look at our current courses. 

Our Graduate Degrees

The graduate training program offers the PhD degree, and three MS degrees (an academic research-oriented degree, a professional distance-learning masters for part-time students, and co-terminal for Stanford undergraduates). We also have post-doctoral fellows, and offer a distance learning certificate.

• Prerequisites . For a graduate degree, Stanford University requires the applicant to have a bachelor’s degree. We do not require any particular major, but we do require that students have strong undergraduate preparation in computer science/software engineering, mathematics (especially calculus, probability and statistics, and linear algebra), and college-level biology. Applicants with limited backgrounds in these areas should fill the deficiencies prior to applying to our program.
• Curriculum . MS and PhD candidates take coursework in four areas: (1) core DBDS classes, (2) an individual plan with electives in computer science, statistics, mathematics, engineering, and allied informatics-related disciplines, (3) required coursework in social, legal, and ethical issues, (4) unrestricted electives. In addition, PhD candidates are required to choose electives in some area of biology or medicine. Degree candidates also learn important didactic skills by serving as teaching assistants in our core courses.
• Funding . We have been continuously funded by  a training grant from the National Library of Medicine since 1984, which provides fellowship support for students who are US citizens and permanent residents. International students bring outside funding or compete for Stanford Graduate Fellowships. Senior graduate students typically receive funding support through their research supervisor.

The History of Our Graduate Program

History at Stanford

The Biomedical Data Science Graduate Program has a long history both at Stanford and internationally, as the first program of its kind. The degree program was initiated in October 1982 as Medical Information Sciences (MIS) and continues to emphasize interdisciplinary education between medicine, computer science, and statistics, offering pre- and postdoctoral degrees and training. The DBDS Program has been supported by a training grant from the National Library of Medicine since 1984, which initially funded only postdoctoral trainees but was broadened to include predoctoral trainees in 1987. The NLM training grant has been renewed every five years since and has provided tuition and stipend support for hundreds of trainees.

Today, the Biomedical Data Science Graduate Program sits in the newly formed Department of Biomedical Data Science and emphasizes methods development and application across the entire spectrum of biology, medicine, and human health.

A Foundation in Medicine and Computer Science

The interaction between Computer Science and other disciplines has produced vibrant areas of research and education at Stanford since the late 1960s; computing activities in the School of Medicine were stimulated even earlier, principally by the Chair of Genetics, Nobel Laureate Joshua Lederberg. Professor Lederberg collaborated with Professor Carl Djerassi (Chemistry) and Professor Edward Feigenbaum (Computer Science) to create what is arguably the first research program that applied the nascent field of artificial intelligence to biomedical problems. Their U.S. Dendral system, which studied the expertise of mass spectroscopists who could interpret an organic compound’s mass spectrum to infer the chemical structure of that compound, is considered the first expert system.

Professor Lederberg’s second key effort was to attract NIH funding for a large medically focused shared computer for the medical school. This computer, known as ACME, was heavily used by Stanford medical researchers, educators, and students until 1973. It brought a computing culture into the environment, which in turn began to attract medical students who had an interest in the intersection of the two fields.  Later ACME gave way to the SUMEX-AIM Computer, also funded by NIH with Lederberg as PI. This resource was the first biomedically focused machine on the ARPANet, which evolved to become today’s Internet.  The SUMEX Computer was a key resource at Stanford for almost 20 years.

Working closely with Stanley Cohen (a Professor of Medicine who later succeeded Lederberg as Chair of Genetics) and Bruce Buchanan (a research scientist in computer science who was a member of the Dendral Project), Edward Shortliffe undertook a combined MD/PhD with the doctoral degree in a self-designed interdisciplinary program. Further discussion with faculty, students, and researchers emphasized the interest and need to formalize this kind of interdisciplinary education, directly leading to the formation of the MIS graduate program.

The Human Genome Project and a Turn at the Turn of the Century

The launch of the Human Genome Project in 1990 and its completion in 2003 seeded substantial interest and need for computing in the biological community. In 2000 Dr. Russ B. Altman succeeded Dr. Shortliffe as Director of the MIS Program and in recognition of a new mission beyond clinical informatics, to fundamental issues of biomedical knowledge, its representation and its application, the program was renamed Biomedical Data Science  Training Program  (DBDS). The term Biomedical Data Science   represents not only the continued development of medical information systems but also the use of sophisticated computation to study medicine at the molecular, cellular, organismal, and population levels.

Biomedical Data Science Today

On September 1, 2023, the Biomedical Informatics (BMI) training program finalized its last step in merging with the Department of Biomedical Data Science (DBDS) and formally changed its name to the Biomedical Data Science Training Program.

Our trainees admitted after September 1, 2023 will earn their Master’s and PhD degrees in Biomedical Data Science.

The mission of our department and the training program remain fully aligned to “advance precision health by leveraging large, complex, multi-scale real-world data through the development and implementation of novel analytical tools and methods.” Aligning the name of the degree program with department name was widely regarded as both logical and appropriate. More importantly, it reflects a shared vision in our research and education missions that serves to pull our integrated work in biomedical informatics, biostatistics and AI/ML under a unified interdisciplinary umbrella.

The DBDS Training Program at Stanford continues to evolve to meet the needs of biomedical computation and application. Under the guidance of the current Director since 2018 and Chair of the Department of Biomedical Data Science, Professor Sylvia Plevritis, and with support from NLM, the DBDS Program continues to innovate in the areas of Healthcare and Clinical Informatics, Translational Bioinformatics, and Clinical Research Informatics. In addition to historical research thrusts in biomedical knowledge representation and the genetic basis of disease, current research explores algorithms for real world biomedical data, multi-modal data and meta-analysis, medical image analysis, responsible clinical decision making, reproducibility, methods for efficient querying and access to big biomedical data, and more.

Prospective students with interest in career directions in Biomedical Data Science should review a list of our Alumni and their current jobs under the People Directory .

If you have a job posting that you would like to send to the DBDS students and post-docs, please email it to dbds-job-openings at lists.stanford.edu for distribution as we deem appropriate for our audience.

DBDS Current Students and Alumni

The  School of Medicine Career Center  offers resources for professional and leadership development, resources for the job hunt ranging from presentation skills, resume preparation, interview skills to job hunt strategy. There is a seminar series from both industry and academia, and a number of industry events: demos, job fairs, industry mixers.

The University’s  Career Development Center  supports undergraduate and graduate career development. They have  Career Fairs .

To add your name to the DBDS jobs email list, send your request to the DBDS student services team .

External Job Listings in Biomedical Data Science

AMIA Job Exchange BayBio’s Job Sites list BioCareer’s Job site Bioinformatics.org’s Jobs site BioinformaticsDirectory listings Genomeweb’s Job listings ISCB Jobs Database Nature’s Jobs list New Scientist Jobs NIH’s job listings Science Career’s Ziprecruiter

Postdoctoral Positions at Stanford

Please see the descriptions for various opportunities in Biomedical Data Science under Postdoctoral Training

Directions to DBDS Program Offices

The DBDS Program Offices are in the Stanford’s Medical School Office Building (MSOB). The street address is: 1265 Welch Road, Stanford, CA 94305.

MSOB is located on the corner of Campus Drive West and Welch Road, between Panama Street and Welch Road. MSOB is a three story white building with redwood window framing. The exact latitude/longitude is 37.431734, -122.179476. See the map, below.

There are two options for parking:

• The parking lot in front of our building, which has an entrance on Welch Road. This lot has a few parking spots with coin metered parking.
• The large parking lot across the street on Welch Road. Entrance to the lot is from Stock Farm Road or Oak Road, but you have to drive within the lot towards the corner of Welch Road and Campus Drive. Payment is through cash, coins, or credit card using an automated permit dispenser. Information:  https://transportation.stanford.edu/parking

For all questions about the program, email: 

[email protected]

Mailing Address: Office Location 

Department of Biomedical Data Science Graduate Training Program

Stanford University School of Medicine

1265 Welch Road, MSOB X-343

Stanford, CA 94305-5464

Explore Graduate Programs

Dual and Joint Programs

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Students interested in completing more than one graduate degree may be interested in our MD/PhD, dual MBA/MS or joint JD/PHD/MS programs. Please contact [email protected] for questions regarding any of the below programs.

Students interested in a career-oriented toward bioengineering and medicine can pursue the combined MD/PhD program. Stanford provides two ways to earn an MD/PhD: 

• US citizens and permanent residents can apply to the  Medical Scientist Training Program  and can be accepted with funding from both the MD and PhD programs with stipend/tuition. They can then select a bioengineering laboratory for their PhD.
• Students not admitted to the Medical Scientist Training Program must apply and be admitted separately to the MD program and the PhD program of their choice.

The PhD degree is administered by the Department of Bioengineering. To be formally admitted as a PhD degree candidate in this combined degree program, the student must apply through normal departmental channels and must have earned or have plans to earn an MS in bioengineering or another engineering discipline at Stanford or another university. The MS requires 45 units of coursework, which consists of core bioengineering courses, technical electives, seminars and 6 unrestricted units. In addition, students will be expected to pass the Department of Bioengineering PhD qualifying examination. For students fulfilling the full MD requirements who earned their master’s-level engineering degree at Stanford, the Department of Bioengineering will waive its normal departmental requirement that the 15 units applied toward the PhD degree (beyond the master’s degree level) be formal course work. Consistent with the university’s PhD requirements, the department will instead accept 15 units comprised of courses, research or seminars that are approved by the student’s academic advisor and the department chair. Students not completing their MS engineering degree at Stanford will be required to take 15 units of formal course work in engineering-related areas, as determined by their academic advisor.

Dual MBA/MS

Stanford offers the opportunity to pursue a dual MS/MBA, which combines its world-leading programs in engineering and business. Admitted students fulfill the degree requirements for each degree with advising from BioE and GSB. Students may choose to pursue the dual MS/MBA concurrently or consecutively.

Candidates interested in pursuing the dual MS/MBA must apply to and be accepted by the other program separately, then notify the BioE program or GSB. Candidates may apply concurrently to both programs or apply to the dual degree program during the first year as an MBA or MS student.

For more information about applying to the MBA and BioE MS program, please consult the  MBA admissions website  and  BioE graduate admissions website.

Joint JD/MS/PhD

The School of Law and the Department of Bioengineering offer joint programs leading to either a JD degree combined with an MS degree in Bioengineering or to a JD combined with a PhD in Bioengineering.

The JD/MS and JD/PhD degree programs are designed for students who wish to prepare themselves intensively for careers in areas relating to both law and bioengineering. Students interested in either joint degree program must apply and gain entrance separately to the School of Law and the Department of Bioengineering and, as an additional step, must secure permission from both academic units to pursue degrees in those units as part of a joint degree program. Interest in either joint degree program should be noted on the student’s admission applications and may be considered by the admission committee of each program. Alternatively, an enrolled student in either the Law School or the Bioengineering Department may apply for admission to the other program and for joint degree status in both academic units after commencing study in either program.

Joint degree students may elect to begin their course of study in either the School of Law or the Department of Bioengineering. Faculty advisers from each academic unit will participate in the planning and supervising of the student’s joint program. Students must be enrolled full time in the Law School for the first year of law school, and, at some point during the joint program, may be required to devote one or more quarters largely or exclusively to studies in the Bioengineering program regardless of whether enrollment at that time is in the Law School or the Department of Bioengineering. At all other times, enrollment may be in the graduate school or the Law School, and students may choose courses from either program regardless of where enrolled. Students must satisfy the requirements for both the JD and the MS or PhD degrees as specified in the Stanford Bulletin or elsewhere.

The Law School shall approve courses from the Bioengineering Department that may count toward the JD degree, and the Bioengineering Department shall approve courses from the Law School that may count toward the MS or PhD degree in Bioengineering. In either case, approval may consist of a list applicable to all joint degree students or may be tailored to each student’s program. The lists may differ depending on whether the student is pursuing an MS or a PhD in Bioengineering.

In the case of a JD/MS program, no more than 45 units of approved courses may be counted toward both degrees. In the case of a JD/PhD program, no more than 54 units of approved courses may be counted toward both degrees. In either case, no more than 36 units of courses that originate outside the Law School may count toward the law degree. To the extent that courses under this joint degree program originate outside of the Law School but count toward the law degree, the Law School credits permitted under Section 17(1) of the Law School Regulations shall be reduced on a unit-per-unit basis, but not below zero.

The maximum number of Law School credits that may be counted toward the MS or PhD in Bioengineering is the greater of: (i) 15 units; or (ii) the maximum number of units from courses outside of the department that MS or PhD candidates in Bioengineering are permitted to count toward the applicable degree under general departmental guidelines or in the case of a particular student’s individual program. Tuition and financial aid arrangements will normally be through the school in which the student is then enrolled.

Jerry is an MD/PhD student in the Stanford Medical Scientist Training Program and Department of Genetics. Jerry was born and raised in Xinzheng, China, before moving to Seattle for middle and high school. Jerry received his B.S. in Neuroscience at Johns Hopkins and studied biochemistry at the University of Oxford. Before coming to Stanford, Jerry has worked on the mechanisms of neurodegeneration at Johns Hopkins, the molecular bases of behavioral neuroscience at the National Institute of Health, and novel methods for gene delivery in the Feng Zhang Lab at the Broad Institute. His primary research interest is to build molecular tools for the human brain. Outside of the lab, Jerry is usually found in his backyard garden or in restaurant supply stores preparing for his next dinner party.

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How to Get Into Stanford Medical School: Requirements and Strategies

Learn the stanford medical school acceptance rate, admissions requirements, and strategies, plus sample responses to stanford secondary prompts.

Part 1: Introduction

Part 2: stanford medical school md programs, part 3: how hard is it to get into stanford medical school, part 4: stanford secondary application essays (examples included), part 5: stanford medical school interview .

Few medical schools hold the prestige and promise of Stanford. Stanford Medical School has produced physicians and researchers at the forefronts of their fields since its establishment in 1908 and is consistently ranked among the top ten medical schools in the country. In fact, Stanford holds the #5 spot in U.S. News and World Report’s research rankings—one of the highest rankings among medical schools in California . Considering its immense resources and expectations of excellence, it’s easy to understand why.

Unsurprisingly, getting into Stanford Medical School is extremely tough. Fortunately, our team has nearly 20 years of experience helping students gain admission to Stanford. In fact, we routinely receive messages like this:

"Just got the acceptance call from Stanford :) So excited!! Thank you all so much for your help." STUDENT ACCEPTED TO STANFORD MEDICAL SCHOOL

If you’re a high-achieving premed wondering how to get into Stanford University School of Medicine, you can use this guide to learn what concrete steps you can take to make your application stand out. We’ll cover Stanford admissions requirements, how to approach secondary essays, and what to expect during interviews.

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Thank you! Your guide is on its way. In the meantime,  please let us know how we can help you crack the the medical school admissions code . You can also learn more about our 1-on-1 medical school admissions support  here .

There are a number of ways to achieve an MD at Stanford, including several renowned dual-degree programs:

The traditional, four-year MD program

The Medical Scientist Training Program ( MD/PhD )

MD/Master’s degrees ( MD/MPH , MD/MBA, MD/MPP, and more)

The MD/JD Program

Stanford Medical School tuition and scholarships

For the 2023–2024 academic year, Stanford’s quarterly tuition is $21,781, though students participating in research may qualify to have their tuition reduced. Taking into consideration living expenses and other costs (books, supplies, health insurance, etc.), Stanford recommends an overall budget of $137,888, if living on campus, and $145,468, if living off campus. Keep in mind that their most recently published cost of attendance pertains to the 2022-2023 academic year, not the 2023-2024 year.

Though these costs are high, Stanford offers need-based institutional aid and need-based Stanford Loans, most of which have 0% interest while students are in school or residency. There are also a number of other grants, federal loans, and external sources of funding available.

In recent years, over two-thirds of Stanford medical students have qualified for financial aid. The median student debt among the class of 2023 was $122,830 , well under the national average.

Furthermore, in 2020, Stanford received a $55 million gift that will be used to increase financial aid for students with demonstrated need over the next ten years. You can therefore expect that the levels of financial aid given out to future classes will be even more generous.

Stanford Medical School admissions statistics

Stanford Medical School’s acceptance rate is 1.4%. Let’s break that figure down by taking a look at admissions statistics for the class of 2027:

Applications: 8,837

Interviews: 498

Matriculants: 89

Furthermore, Stanford has exceedingly high expectations when it comes to GPA and MCAT scores :

Median GPA: 3.89

Median MCAT score: 519

Stanford Medical School admissions requirements

Stanford doesn’t require applicants to complete specific coursework, but to be seriously considered, you should be able to demonstrate knowledge and academic preparation in the following areas:

Chemistry and physics

Physics and mathematics

Laboratory or field experiments

Behavioral and social sciences

Communication (includes fluency in a foreign language, particularly Spanish or an Asian language)

If you’re applying in the 2024–2025 cycle, you must submit an MCAT score from an exam taken between January 2021 and September 10, 2024. Note that Stanford does not combine the section scores of your MCAT to create a higher cumulative score, and they will be able to see all of your previous scores, not just the most recent.

(Suggested reading: Medical School Requirements: The Definitive Guide )

Beyond academic excellence: Standing out for Stanford

It’s well-known that to gain acceptance to any medical school you will need a robust extracurricular profile including volunteering, shadowing and possibly even research experiences. At a top-tier school such as Stanford, this is all the more important to stand out on your application.

But how can you go about targeting extracurriculars that Stanford is looking for? For clues to this, you can look to Stanford’s mission statement and affirmation. Their mission statement says, “To educate and inspire a diverse group of leaders in medicine and science who will improve human health through discovery, innovation, scholarship, education, and the delivery of outstanding patient-centered care.”

Some key words stand out here such as, “a diverse group of leaders,” “discovery, innovation, scholarship,” and “outstanding patient-centered care.” Long before you even apply to Stanford, you’ll need to consider how you can demonstrate these qualities in your application to show the admissions committee that you’ll not only add to the Stanford community but are on track to become a valued member of their diverse group of leaders in medicine.

With that in mind, we’ve listed some activities to consider pursuing with the goal of acceptance to the Stanford University School of Medicine below.

Leadership: Have you held leadership positions in clubs, research teams, or volunteer organizations? Did you spearhead initiatives or projects that demonstrably improved healthcare or scientific understanding? Seek out opportunities where you can position yourself as a leader. This means being selective (if you can) with the volunteer experiences you choose. Think of each experience as contributing to the bigger picture of you and create that picture as one in harmony with Stanford’s mission.

Diversity and Inclusion: Do your activities reflect a commitment to fostering diversity and inclusion in healthcare? Have you volunteered in underserved communities or participated in programs that address health disparities? Many cities across America have free or low-cost clinics aimed at addressing issues with healthcare access for the underprivilaged. Seek out clinics or volunteer programs in your community that specifically address these issues.

Research and Innovation: Do you have research experience in a lab or clinical setting? Have you presented your findings at conferences or co-authored publications? You’ll certainly need to take labs as part of your premed coursework and getting clinical experience is also necessary. But neither of these will really help you stand out on a Stanford application. Demonstrating your commitment to research and innovation takes a bit of extra effort. If you have an idea, make sure to discuss it with an advisor or someone at the pre-health office at your school. They’ll often be able to point you to opportunities for funding, summer undergraduate research programs, or national programs such as the Summer Internship Program at the National Institutes of Health.

Service and Patient-Centered Care: Have you volunteered in healthcare settings like hospitals, clinics, or hospice care? All medical schools will look for something like this on your application and so will Stanford. Demonstrating your compassion and commitment to direct patient interaction can be done in many ways through shadowing a doctor or working at a hospice. You may even consider becoming an EMT as a premed to help bolster your application.

While hours spent in specific activities matter, make sure to focus on the impact you made when writing your essays. Did your research result in progress within the field? How did your leadership improve the lives of others?

Remember, you won’t necessarily have to do all of the above to get into Stanford and some of your experiences may overlap. For example, your patient-centered care or research experiences may also portray you as an effective leader. At the end of the day, you want to show how your experiences align with Stanford’s mission of being a leader in improving human health.

Stanford Medical School application timeline

Here are the dates and deadlines you’ll need to know to apply to Stanford Medical School through AMCAS :

May 1, 2024: AMCAS application opens

May 28, 2024: AMCAS application can be submitted

July 2024–October 2024: AMCAS applications transmitted to Stanford and Stanford secondary application invitations sent

August 2024–January 2025: Applications reviewed and interview invitations sent

October 2, 2024: AMCAS application deadline

October 23, 2024: Stanford secondary application deadline

January 2025–March 2025: Offers of admissions sent

April 30, 2025: Deadline to accept offers of admission to a single school

Remember that it’s always in your best interest to submit your AMCAS and secondary materials as soon as possible to take advantage of medical school’s rolling admissions. To be a competitive applicant to Stanford Medicine, you should have everything finalized, including your medical school personal statement , AMCAS Work and Activities section and pre-written secondary essays , by June or July of your application year.

Note that Stanford expects international applicants to “have studied for at least one academic year at an accredited college or university in the United States, Canada, or the United Kingdom prior to applying for admission.”

Finally, remember that many top medical schools like Stanford and Harvard expect their students to not only be interested in patient care but also future leaders in medicine and healthcare. Strong applicants to Stanford will not only be able to tell a story of why they want to be in medicine as a career but will also tell a story of how they hope to impact the changing field of healthcare and biomedical sciences in the long run.

You’ve probably heard that simply saying you like science and want to help people is an insufficient way to make a case for yourself as a great future doctor. That’s always true, but especially so when you’re applying to top programs like Stanford’s. If you have great grades, test scores, and clinical experiences, the big difference between heading to a mid-tier and a top-tier medical school can lie in the qualitative aspects of your application—how eloquent and reflective are you about medicine? In other words: how good are your essays? 

(Suggested reading: The Ideal Medical School Application Timeline )

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Once you’ve gotten the AMCAS application out of the way, you’ll have the chance to answer Stanford Medicine’s secondary prompts . For each essay, we’ve listed strategies and ways to make your answers stand out from the field. The examples are based on composites of students we’ve worked with in over nearly 20 years of advising.

Question 1: Are there any current or pending disputes concerning your academic status? If yes, please explain. (300 character limit)

Question 2: Was your enrollment status ever interrupted during your undergraduate or graduate program, not including summer term (e.g. medical, personal, or academic reasons, military service, other)? If yes, please explain. (150 character limit)

Question 3: What do you see as the most likely practice scenario for your future medical career? Choose the single answer that best describes your career goals and clinical practice setting:

Academic Medicine (Clinical)

Academic Medicine (Physician Scientist)

Non-Academic Clinical Practice

Health Policy

Health Administration

Primary Care

Public Health/Community Health

Global Health

Why do you feel you are particularly suited for this practice scenario? What knowledge, skills and attitudes have you developed that have prepared you for this career path? (1,000 characters)

This prompt involves a few components. First, you’re asked to pick a single “practice scenario” or career path from the list provided. Then, you’re asked to elaborate on the “knowledge, skills and attitudes” that make you well-suited for this path.

In asking this question, the admissions committee wants to know that you’re passionate about a particular field or pursuit, and that your experiences have prepared you for this pursuit. Lead off with a straightforward thesis statement and try to keep your answer focused on why Stanford is uniquely suited to help you realize your goals, as opposed to another med school with similar programs. Here’s a good example:

I’ve always been passionate about public health and community organizing. Pursuing an MD/MPH would allow me to expand the work I’ve done for nearly ten years—educating people on the benefits of a locally sourced, plant-based diet.

After college, my wife and I bought an empty lot in Price Hill, the neighborhood in Cincinnati where we were living, and turned it into a community garden. The number of families living below the poverty line in Price Hill was staggering, and there was a corresponding decline in health outcomes. Our garden worked against this decline.

At Stanford, I would contribute to and learn from the exciting research in nutrition intervention studies conducted by the Gardner Nutrition Research Group. It would also be wonderful to draw on the resources of the innovative food communities in the Bay Area. I believe Stanford Medicine embodies my attitudes about wellness—that health must be cultivated on the community level, before it can take root in individuals.

What’s working about this response?

It reveals the applicant’s passion for a particular field of medicine, a passion that’s woven into his life and predates even his interest in medical school.

It doesn’t summarize the applicant’s resumé. If courses and research opportunities have prepared him for a career in public health, those will show up in his transcript and CV. This answer focuses on what won’t show up on a transcript, which is precisely the opportunity that the secondary prompts afford.

It demonstrates familiarity with both Stanford and the Bay Area.

Here's another example:

For the last two years, I’ve worked as a medical translator for a walk-in clinic in Austin, Texas. The clinic is located in a mostly Spanish-speaking neighborhood, and many of the patients are Hispanic immigrants who work on local organic farms or construction sites. They come in with illnesses and workplace injuries, and it’s my job to translate the advice of primary care physicians. This involves not only discretion, but also great responsibility and careful listening.

I’ve learned a lot through this experience about the roles and duties of primary care physicians. I’m applying to Stanford Medicine because I want to be a primary care physician myself. I admire Stanford’s work with the Pacific Free Clinic in San Jose, and their other outreach efforts in Hispanic communities. I believe that with my knowledge, both as a Spanish speaker and a medical translator, I can help contribute to this ongoing outreach.

This answer takes a slightly different tack. What’s working well?

The applicant foregrounds her health-related experience. In this case, the experience is directly related to the practice scenario. The constraints of the prompt make it necessary to cut to the chase, and that’s exactly what the applicant’s done here.

Her perspective on the practice scenario is unique. It’s not just that she worked or volunteered at a primary care clinic. She filled a niche role at the clinic . She sees the medical profession from another angle, one that perhaps is not typical, and has experience working with an underserved population—all of which she communicates clearly in the short space allotted.

Question 4: How will you take advantage of the Stanford Medicine Discovery Curriculum and scholarly concentration requirement to achieve your personal career goals? (1,000 characters max)

Question 5: Describe in a short paragraph your educational and family background. (For example – I grew up in New York City, as the 3rd child of a supermarket cashier and a high school principal. I attended Mann High School where my major interests were boxing and drama .) (600 characters)

Question 6: Please describe which aspects of your life experiences, interests, and character would help you to make a distinctive contribution to Stanford Medicine. (2000 characters)

Question 5: Please describe how you have uniquely contributed to a community with which you identify. (1000 characters)

Question 6: Please describe an experience/ situation when you advocated for someone else. (1000 characters)

Question 7: Please describe how you have uniquely contributed to a community with which you identify. (1000 characters)

Question 8: Please describe an experience/ situation when you advocated for someone else. (1000 characters)

Question 9: Please include anything else that will help us understand better how you may uniquely contribute to Stanford Medicine? (Optional) (1000 characters)

Gain instant access to med school secondary essay examples for every single prompt required by every medical school in the United States and Canada. Subscribe today to lock in the current investments, which will be increasing in the future for new subscribers.

Part 5: Stanford Medical School interview

Stanford switched to the Multiple Mini Interview , or MMI, format in 2011. Because this format tests your critical thinking and decision-making processes, rather than medical or scientific knowledge, there’s no way to memorize answers or know exactly what specific questions will be asked.

In other words, knowing a lot about Stanford Medicine and its programs and departments, while crucial for your essays, won’t necessarily be helpful as you go station to station in your MMI. However, you may have a chance to express your enthusiasm for Stanford during the down time at your interview, so bring your excitement anyway.

In the 2024–2025 application cycle, interviews will be held virtually.

(Suggested reading: How to Ace Your Medical School Interviews )

Final thoughts

Stanford Medical School’s application and interview process can seem like a gauntlet. But while it’s true that admissions are highly competitive, you can take concrete steps to maximize your chances. In a pool of applicants whose grades and test scores are superb, secondary essays separate the wheat from the chaff. If your other credentials are strong, focus on writing essays that portray you as a future leader in healthcare.

About the Author

Dr. Shirag Shemmassian is the Founder of Shemmassian Academic Consulting and one of the world's foremost experts on medical school admissions. For nearly 20 years, he and his team have helped thousands of students get into medical school using his exclusive approach.

Joint MS and Dual Admission FAQs

Main navigation, e-iper program and structure, why a joint/dual ms degree from e-iper.

The E-IPER Joint/Dual MS degree allows professional degree students to take advantage of environment and resources courses, faculty, and programs on campus, earning an MS while concurrently completing their MBA at the Graduate School of Business, JD at Stanford Law School, MA in the Ford Dorsey Master's in International Policy program, MD at the School of Medicine, and PhD in another Stanford department or school.

What have past E-IPER Joint MS students gone on to do after they graduated?

Our students have gone on to a variety of interesting careers in government, non-profits, venture capital, start-ups, law firms, judicial clerkships and consulting. Upon graduation, our students have taken roles in organizations such as the Earth Justice, Google, Prelude Ventures, Opower, The Nature Conservancy, McKinsey, and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and large array of early stage companies.

What is the difference between a Joint MS and Dual MS?

At Stanford, a Joint MS is a Masters of Science degree that is completed concurrently with another graduate or professional degree, allowing some coursework to count towards both degrees. E-IPER offers a Joint MS for MBA students at Stanford's Graduate School of Business or JD students at the Stanford Law School. A Dual MS is a Masters of Science degree does not allow coursework to count toward both degrees. All requirements for each degree must be met.  E-IPER offers a Dual MS for MA students in the Ford Dorsey Master's in International Policy program, MD students at the Stanford's School of Medicine, and PhD students from other Stanford departments and schools. E-IPER does not currently offer Dual MS-MS degrees.

Do I have an advisor while in E-IPER?

E-IPER Joint and Dual MS students are encouraged to seek out a faculty member to serve as an adviser. Students should consider the alignment of their own research and professional interests with the faculty member's work and interests. E-IPER staff and fellow students provide an array of advice and opportunities to connect with E-IPER affiliated faculty. For your Capstone Project, we recommend you engage with a technical advisor with expertise in the area you are working alongside the Capstone instructor. 

Can I pursue Independent Study as a part of E-IPER?

Yes, you are eligible to complete up to 5 units of independent study under the guidance of a Stanford faculty member. Additionally, the Capstone Project is structured as a guided Independent Study on a project of your own selection. Students sometimes do pursue an Independent Study prior to their Capstone quarter to explore a particular project over an extended period of time.

Financial Considerations of the Joint MS Program

How long will it take to complete the joint ms degree.

The E-IPER Joint MS is a flexible program, and the time required to complete it depends on your professional school and your course planning. Generally, the Joint MS-MBA can be completed in 1-3 additional quarters beyond the 2-year MBA program. The Joint MS-JD can be completed within the 3 year JD program. The Dual MS-MA (MIP) can be completed in 1-3 additional quarters beyond the 2-year MIP program. The Dual MS-MD can be completed in 5 years, which includes an additional year beyond medical school. The Dual MS-PhD can be completed in 5 years.

How much does it cost?

Joint MS students pay tuition in their professional school: 2 years for MBA students and 3 years for Law students. Joint MBA , Dual MA (MIP), and Dual MD students who take additional quarters to complete their E-IPER coursework pay Stanford Graduate tuition, which is generally less than tuition at the Professional Schools. Graduate tuition rates are set by the University each year and depend on the number of units taken. Students should check with their professional school for more information about tuition and financial aid.

Is there funding available for Joint MS students?

E-IPER does not currently provide funding for Joint MS students. Students are encouraged to contact their professional school’s financial aid office to understand financial aid eligibility and options through their professional schools and/or sources outside Stanford.

Application Process

Who is eligible to apply.

Graduate students currently enrolled in the MBA program at Stanford's Graduate School of Business or JD program at the Law School are eligible to apply for the Joint MS in Environment and Resources. MA students in the Ford Dorsey Master's in International Policy program, MD students at Stanford's Medical School, and PhD students in another Stanford department or school are eligible to apply for the Dual MS degree. Although admission to the E-IPER Joint MS Program is dependent on admission to one of the above listed graduate school programs, you may apply for the Joint MS at the same time you apply to your professional school.

I am not interested in an MBA, JD, MA (MIP), or MD degree. Can I still apply for the Joint MS in Environment and Resources?

No. We do not have a stand-alone MS degree. We do, however, have a PhD Program in Environment and Resources. 

Do I have to apply concurrently with my professional school application or can I apply later?

There are two ways to apply: you can apply concurrently with your professional school application or you can wait until your first year in your professional school. Applications for existing Professional School students are due at the end of January of your first year at Stanford.

Are there any pre-requisites for applying to the E-IPER Joint MS Program?

Though E-IPER has no specific course prerequisites for application purposes, it is expected that students will enter the program with foundational quantitative skills. These skills may be obtained through E-IPER coursework as long as students understand that this may extend the length of their program.

Could I be admitted to my professional school, but not E-IPER or vice-versa?

It is possible that you could be admitted to your professional school program, but not admitted to the E-IPER Joint MS and Dual MS Program. It is not possible to be admitted to the E-IPER program without also being admitted to a professional school program, as the MS in Environment and Resources is not a stand-alone MS degree. The Joint MS degree is conferred simultaneously with a Stanford JD and MBA degree. The Dual MS can be conferred in separate quarters for the Stanford MA (MIP), MD, or PhD degree, but  we encouraged to confer simultaneously.

Test Requirements

Are gre test scores required to apply to the joint ms program.

No, GRE scores are not required for application to the Joint and Dual MS Program. The E-IPER Admissions Committee will not be considering standardized test scores for Joint and Dual MS admission. However, the GRE, GMAT, LSAT, or MCAT scores that are submitted with your professional school application, may considered for your professional school application. Please reach out to your respective professional school to inquire about test score requirements.

FOR JOINT MS-JD STUDENTS ONLY: Students applying for the Joint JD-MS should include a brief description of their quantitative preparation (ie. previous coursework in mathematics, sciences, and engineering or relevant professional work) to demonstrate readiness for the science and engineering courses that are required of the Joint MS.

Are there any minimum score requirements on the GRE, GMAT, LSAT, or MCAT?

Since the E-IPER Admissions Committee will not be considering standardized test scores for Joint and Dual MS admission, there are no specific score requirements for the GRE, GMAT, LSAT, or MCAT.  However, E-IPER is a highly competitive program and the majority of admitted students have excellent academic records.

Should I send my test scores to E-IPER prior to applying to the Program?

Since the E-IPER Admissions Committee will not be considering standardized test scores for Joint and Dual MS admission, please do not send your professional school application test scores to E-IPER staff prior to applying to the Program. 

What is the TOEFL requirement?

If you were required to submit TOEFL scores as part of your application to your professional school, these will be forwarded to the E-IPER admissions committee. Applicants who hold a bachelor's degree or a two-year master's degree from an accredited English speaking university are exempted from the TOEFL requirement. Applicants must meet the TOEFL score requirements set forth by their professional school.

MD PhD Programs For International Students In USA

A PhD usually involves students engaged independently in original and significant research in a specific field or subject prior to the production of a publication-worthy thesis. By undertaking a PhD, you will become an expert, possibly an international expert, in your chosen field. A doctorate is the highest academic degree that can be awarded by a university. In Germany, studying for a doctorate means working intensively on a specific subject or research project over a long period of time. The duration of the doctorate also varies. Three to five years is typical. If you decide to take a doctorate, you can choose between different forms of study.

There are many MD PhD programs for international students in the USA.

The MD PhD programs are known as combined degree programs that provide an opportunity to receive both a medical and doctoral degree. The degrees are typically offered by medical schools.

MD PhD programs are designed to train the future physician-scientists. The MSTP (Medical Scientist Training Program) is the most commonly known of these programs.

In this article, we list the best MD PhD Programs for international students in USA

Are you a student trying to find out about the md PhD programs for international students in USA? If so, then you’ve come to the right place. Find out all the information you need on md PhD programs for international students in USA and so on right here on Collegelearners. You can also learn about the latest findings on MDPhD GPA, MDPhD salary and MSTP admission statistics.

fully funded mDPhD programs for international students

If you’re an international student looking to study medicine in the U.S., you’re probably wondering about MD PhD programs for international students in the USA.

In this article, we’ll explore all the important aspects of dual-degree programs for international students, such as accreditation, financial aid and prerequisites. We’ll also look at what it takes to get into a dual-degree program, and how much it typically costs to pursue such an advanced degree.

Finally, we’ll discuss some of the most popular dual-degree programs available in the United States.

Knight-Hennessy Scholars

The  Knight-Hennessy Scholars  program cultivates a diverse, multidisciplinary community of emerging leaders from around the world and guides them to collaborate, innovate, and communicate as they prepare to address the complex challenges facing society. Knight-Hennessy Scholars become part of a supportive family of fellow scholars. Through the King Global Leadership Program, scholars will broaden knowledge, develop skills, and strengthen character; this platform provides a collection of community experiences, workshops, meetings with leaders, domestic and global study trips, and personal development opportunities. Knight-Hennessy Scholars also receive funding for graduate study at Stanford University. Apply at  https://kh.stanford.edu/apply .  The application deadline is October 14, 2020 at 1:00 PM Pacific Time .

DACA or Undocumented Applicants

Stanford has actively supported the DREAM Act legislation since its introduction in 2001, which would enable undocumented students to continue their education and apply for citizenship.  Stanford also supports Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), an executive action signed by former President Barack Obama, which allowed some undocumented individuals who entered the United States as children to remain in the country.  We are among the more than 600 colleges and universities that have signed a letter in support of DACA.

Individuals who have been granted DACA at the time of application are eligible to apply and matriculate to Stanford Medicine.  Additionally, individuals who have met all other requirements and are otherwise undocumented are permitted to apply and matriculate to Stanford Medicine.  http://immigration.stanford.edu/

Equal Access to the School of Medicine’s Educational Program

Stanford Medicine intends for its students and graduates to become competent and compassionate physicians who are capable of entering residency training (graduate medical education) and meeting all requirements for medical licensure.

Stanford Medicine has an institutional commitment to provide equal educational opportunities for qualified students with disabilities who apply for admission to the MD degree program or who are enrolled as medical students. Stanford Medicine is a leader in student diversity and individual rights, with a strong commitment to full compliance with state and federal laws and regulations (including the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and California law (Civil code 51 and 54). A “qualified person with a disability” is an individual with a disability who meets the academic and technical standards requisite to admission or participation in Stanford Medicine’s educational programs, with or without accommodations. Admitted candidates with disabilities are reviewed individually, on a case-by-case basis, with a complete and careful consideration of all the skills, attitudes, and attributes of each candidate to determine whether there are any reasonable accommodations or available options that would permit the candidate to satisfy the standards.

What you should know about MD-PhD

Application

How many students apply to the MD-PhD Program each year? The MD-PhD Program receives over 600 applications per year. Selection for interviews is based on a careful review of the application and supporting documents. A strong research and excellent academic background are essential. Most applicants selected for interviews will have high MCAT scores as well. Letters of recommendation are also very important. Applicants invited for interviews will have their interviews coordinated by the admissions officers to be held on one of four interview dates. Interviews are held November through January. We do not have a rolling admissions process. Some applicants may be invited for medical school interviews but not invited for MD-PhD Program interviews.

Social Science Applicants

Some social science applications differ from the standard process in that a simultaneous application to GSAS is needed.  Economics, Health Policy, History of Science, Population Health Sciences and Religion do  not  need this additional application. Please contact Amy Cohen at [email protected] with questions.  Can I apply to both basic science and social science tracks? You may only apply to one track. If you are not sure which is the best fit for you, please contact Amy Cohen at [email protected] to discuss.

NIH Global Partnership Program applicants

The MD-PhD Program does accept NIH GPP students in our program; however, these applications do not go through the MD-PhD Program admissions process.  Therefore, applicants should not check MD-PhD in their AMCAS applications.  After acceptance into HMS, the NIH GPP Program Officer will contact our MSTP director for approval into our program.  Funding will be managed through us and the student will be part of our community in every way.  However, funding provided by NIH will not be supplemented.  Students work with the HMS Financial Aid Office for additional support. Please note that GPP applicants should apply to HMS in the year prior to when they plan to matriculate and PhDs should be completed before matriculation to medical school.   For more information, please contact Amy Cohen at [email protected].

Requirements

Is the MCAT required? Yes, the MCAT is required for admission. There are no exceptions. Is the GRE required? While the MD-PhD Program does not require the GRE, most graduate programs will require this.  We encourage our students to take the GRE to have the score on record when they need it. Do all requirements need to be completed prior to application? All of our requirements must be completed prior to matriculation. However, most successful applicants have completed most of the requirements prior to application. Does the MD-PhD Program interview non-science majors? Although we have interviewed some non-science majors, it is true that they are generally not as competitive. We are looking for students with an advanced background in both science coursework and lab experience who are highly committed to a career in science. Does Harvard Medical School evaluate international transcripts? Harvard Medical School does not evaluate coursework, but does consider the evaluation of a credit evaluation company.  AMCAS may have guidelines on the best way to have the courses evaluated.  International applicants are evaluated on the same terms as US citizens.  How many letters of recommendation are required? A composite letter of evaluation from your pre-medical advisory committee is preferred; indicate on the application the name of the institution sending the committee letter. If your institution does not have such a committee, please submit a minimum of four letters of evaluation from faculty who know you well, at least two from a science professor, one from a professor in a non-science department, and a research supervisor.  Additional letters of evaluation from faculty members and others familiar with your career are strongly encouraged, and letters of evaluation from each research experience (including the current one) are expected.  Applicants may exceed the six letter maximum if the additional letters are from research supervisors.  Your application will not be considered complete until all listed letters of evaluation have been received. Your letters need to reach AMCAS by November 2, 2020. Where should the MD-PhD Program letters of recommendation be sent? All letters of recommendation are to be sent to the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS). Please do not send recommendation letters to the MD-PhD Program. Does Harvard grant access to secondary application forms for applicants that have submitted their complete AMCAS application without the MCAT scores or must one wait until receipt of MCAT scores to be given access to the secondary application? We only send the secondary applications out to verified applicants.

International Applicants

Can an international citizen apply to the MD-PhD Program and receive funding?  Foreign citizens (those who are not US citizens or permanent residents) with competitive applications are welcome to apply. Although international students are not eligible to receive funding provided by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) grant, an exceptional foreign student could be offered admission to the program with funding from other sources.   This funding opportunity is usually limited to one international student per year.  HMS requires applicants to have at least one year of university level course work from a US or Canadian university. If you have a foreign school undergraduate degree already, then you would have to complete 1 academic year (2 semesters) in the United States or Canada prior to matriculating at Harvard Medical School.  Foreign students who do not have a BA/BS from an institution in the US or Canada are not likely to be accepted for admission.  Please contact HMS Admissions with questions regarding international eligibility: http://hms.harvard.edu/departments/admissions/contact-admissions.

How many applicants are granted interviews each year? Approximately 65-75 applicants are invited for interviews. Admission to the MD-PhD Program is highly competitive. On average, we admit about 12-14 students per year who are offered full funding by the National Institutes of Health, Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) Grant. Graduates of this program complete their programs in an average of 8 years and most continue their postgraduate training in top hospitals in the country. Does Harvard provide reimbursement for travel and lodging when coming to Boston for your interviews? All interviews will be conducted virtually for the 2020-2021 admissions season. If offered a position in the program, we will reimburse you for travel and expenses for the revisit held in April 2021 Date TBA.

Does the HMS, MD-PhD Program have a rolling admissions process? No, it does not have a rolling admissions process. If an applicant is not accepted to the MD-PhD Program, will s/he still be considered for the MD program? If an applicant is not accepted for the MD-PhD Program, s/he may still be considered for HMS. However, one cannot be accepted to the MD-PhD Program without being accepted to HMS in either the Pathways or Health Sciences and Technology (HST) curriculum track. Does HMS offer a MD-PhD in medical informatics? Students in the MD-PhD Program are free to pursue the PhD study in a variety of fields within the basic, applied, engineering and social sciences. Currently, we have a few students who are doing graduate work in the area of bioinformatics and integrative genomics.  For anyone interested in this area, we suggest direct contact with the graduate programs at either Harvard or MIT. Is it possible to receive funding for PhD programs other than those listed above? It’s not impossible, but traditionally most students pursue one of the above programs. When do students formally apply to the PhD program? Most students formally apply to a PhD program during the middle of the second academic year at HMS. Some Social Science graduate programs require admission concurrently with HMS admissions. Deadlines vary among programs. This involves completion of a different application than the one to the MD-PhD Program.

Alternatives

If I am not awarded Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) grant funding, can I still pursue an MD-PhD? One can pursue MD and PhD degrees at HMS without funding. The program invites medical school students who have a serious commitment to join a PhD program as an affiliate student. A student affiliate may join the MD-PhD Program at any time. Student affiliates are invited to participate in all program events. This affiliation does not obligate or provide a commitment to funding. A separate process, second cycle, is for formal applications for funding Harvard Medical School MD-PhD students who are initially unfunded are eligible to apply for “second cycle” funding that, together with funding from the graduate school, covers the cost of all but the first two years of the MD-PhD Program. Please visit ecommons for the on-line MD-PhD Program application for affiliate students. Does the MD-PhD Program accept transfer applicants? The program does not consider applications for transfer.

mDPhD programs for international students in uK

MD/PhD programs are doctorate-level medical research programs that can last between seven and eight years. The program requires both pre-clinical and clinical training. Admission to these programs is highly competitive, and students who successfully complete the program will have a doctoral degree in medicine as well as a doctoral degree in research.

Students who are interested in MD/PhD programs should begin looking into schools that offer the program early in their undergraduate career. Nearly all of these programs require students to complete a bachelor’s degree with an emphasis on science and math before applying. Students with an undergraduate GPA of 3.5 or higher, high test scores, significant research experience, and glowing letters of recommendation are more likely to be accepted into the program.

This guide provides information about MD/PhD programs for international students interested in studying medicine in the United States. The guide covers all aspects of studying medicine in the U.S., including:

Program basics

Application requirements

Costs and funding resources

Eligible schools

Overview For more than a decade, the UK College of Medicine MD/PhD Program has trained men and women for careers as independent physician scientists and leaders in academic medicine, industry, and government. Our students are distinguished by talent, creativity, and commitment to becoming the very best physician-scientists. For this reason, our students hail from across the United States and around the world, presenting us with a mosaic of intellectual and social diversity. The MD/PhD combined degree program trains students to break new ground in medical knowledge and serves as a gateway to a career in biomedical research.

Applicants should indicate interest in the dual degree program via the AMCAS application by designating an application type of MD/PhD or via discussion with admissions during the interview process. 

Curriculum Our program integrates the medical and graduate curricula. Students typically complete the first two years of medical school and then begin their graduate studies. Once they have earned their doctorate, students complete their final two years of the medical school curriculum. Most students complete the combined degree in seven years.

As one of only a handful of universities to have six health care colleges on the same campus, we offer a wide range of graduate training opportunities. What makes UK unique is the transdisciplinary research and the collaboration between investigators from different academic disciplines in our research centers. Students in the program benefit from participation in NIH-funded research programs that serve as a pipeline to a career in biomedical science. These include training in disease-specific areas such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, neuroscience, and drug use and addiction. Mechanistic training programs focus on oxidative stress, pharmacology, nutritional science, biochemistry, nanotechnology, risk behaviors, and other areas. 

The MD-PhD program at the Geisel School welcomes applications from all individuals interested in physician-scientist training, regardless of citizenship status. We offer full funding to international students who hold appropriate visas, reflected in the high number of international students in our program. In addition to being outstanding scholars, international students greatly enrich the diversity of the training environment, and bring different perspectives to the MD-PhD community.

Admissions requirements for international students are identical to those of US citizens and permanent residents. As a reminder, applicants need to have had at least three years of full-time study at an accredited college or university in the United States or Canada.

International students receive the same financial package as US citizens and permanent residents.

Academic recommendations for the MSTP follow the same criteria as admission to the MD Program.  Please see the  MD Admissions website  for information on Stanford University’s Medical School Admissions  academic recommendations . 

If you have matriculated in an MD or PhD program at another institution, you are not eligible to apply to the MSTP. The Stanford MD and MST Programs do not accept applications from students applying for transfer.  Stanford PhD students are eligible to apply through the AMCAS MD application process. 

Stanford’s MSTP is committed to expanding the participation of diverse populations in our program and to increasing their numbers in academic medicine. MSTP encourages applications from students who are Black / African American, Native American, Native Alaskan or Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and Hispanic / Latino American.Students with disabilities are also encouraged to apply.  Students with disabilities actively participating in the various aspects of life at Stanford, are an essential part of our greater community. Stanford University has a strong commitment to maintaining a diverse and stimulating academic community, representing a broad spectrum of talents and experiences.  Stanford Medicine has a number of programs to support these goals. Both the Stanford School of Medicine and the Medical Scientist Training Program encourage those with diverse backgrounds and/or disabilites to apply. We do not discriminate and believe in the inclusion of all individuals. Our selection process is accessible for students with disabilities and reasonable and appropriate accommodations will be provided to ensure that people with disabilities have fair and equal opportunities to demonstrate their qualifications.

Admission to the Medical Scientist Training Program is contingent on acceptance to the Stanford University MD program, and the application process for both programs is collaborative.

Recommendation Letters

The MSTP Admissions Committee wants to see letters of recommendation from your research mentor, or mentors, addressing your experiences in the laboratory. A minimum of three and a maximum of six individual letters of recommendation is required. All letters must be written on official letterhead and signed by the recommender(s) or committee members. All letters of recommendation must be submitted through the AMCAS Letters Service. Please visit the  AMCAS Letters Service  site for instructions and more information.

International Students

The MSTP is not able to fund  International Students . Stipend and tuition support from the MSTP can only be provided for U.S. citizens and permanent residents. Our federal funding restrictions do not permit us to support International Students. Unfortunately, self-support for PhD study is not an option.

Only International Students applying to the Knight-Hennessy Scholars program may also apply to the Stanford MSTP.  If applying to Knight-Hennessy, International Students may apply to the MSTP MD-PhD track at Stanford.

An International Student can still pursue a dual degree MD-PhD program here at Stanford outside of the Knight-Hennessy Scholars Program. The applicant must apply and be admitted separately to both degree programs. It is possible to receive support for PhD study from the specific PhD department or program. Please contact the particular PhD Program directly for PhD application procedures. International Students may be eligible for Institutional Financial Aid. Information on applying for financial aid for the MD program is available  here .

mDPhD programs for international students in canada

mDPhD for international students

The mud and the phud of the md/phd and physician-scientist pursuit.

When we think of physicians in the contemporary health care system we often think of the numerous specialties and subspecialties. Within these specialties are physicians who spend 100% of their time on clinical tasks, as well as those who spend a portion of their time on clinical tasks and another portion on another task including teaching, administration, or research. Those spending time in research (typically 70-80%) and clinical tasks (typically 20-30%) are known as physician-scientists. They conduct research in a variety of fields which can include, but is not limited to, basic science, translational research, clinical trials, medical device engineering, the philosophy and history of medicine, law, English, economics and health systems research. There are many reasons people decide to become a physician-scientist, but often it includes some form of passion towards patient care as well as improving the practice of medicine through experimentation and inquiry. This pursuit is challenging but extremely rewarding to those who have taken it. (resource)

To become a physician-scientist there are several pathways with the one available at the pre-doctoral level being the MD-PhD program. It should be noted that there are also MD combined with a master’s programs, though these are newer and not as well established at this time. All exist with a common idea to provide medical and researcher education to prepare for the physician-scientist journey.

Focusing on the MD-PhD pathway, how exactly do you manage doing two doctorates? Program structure can vary though in general 3-4 years are spent completing the MD and 3-5 years completing the PhD. Traditionally the program is structured to start with 2 years in the MD program, then 3-5 in the PhD program, followed by the remaining 2 years of the MD program. For program specific details you can visit each program’s website (resource) or this 2016 peer-reviewed assessment of differences in program structure across Canada (ref figure 1).

Why Do a Combined MD/PhD

There can be a lot of uncertainty about if, and when, to pursue doctoral studies during your medical journey. In short, there is no right or wrong answer. Doing a PhD, on top of an MD, is not a quick and easy decision. What matters is that your timeline works for you and excites you, even when days get tough.

By pursuing both degrees in a combined MD/PhD program, you are taking an integrative approach. By pursuing a year or two of pre-clerkship medicine first, you have some time to explore your clinical interests and start to understand the relationship between medicine and research, which in turn can influence your PhD research question. You then have 4-5 consecutive years in graduate school. This is protected time to fully explore and appreciate research rigour and a range of research approaches. You then return to medical school with a new lens. Moving forward, you have two hats, and you can take one hat off and put the other hat on, interchangeably.

Here are a few reasons why pursuing the combined MD/PhD program is beneficial. Many personal factors determine a person’s decision, but some ‘universal’ ones are:

• Formal training in both research and medicine that can open and be competitive for many career opportunities
• An integrative approach, from the beginning, that allows both worlds influence the other
• A tight-knit community of students on the same journey, both in your institutional program but also across Canada (e.g. Clinician Investigator Trainee Association of Canada), which provides social relationships and mentorship opportunities from clinician scientists, senior students, and peers
• Specialized training seminars, workshops, and networking events on clinician-scientist-related skill sets
• A funding policy – although this differs from school to school, most MD/PhD students receive funding during both their research and medical training, given such a long career path
• Although you may not know your clinical speciality yet when deciding your PhD research question, you can still develop a research toolkit which you can then apply to future research aims, no matter the clinical field

However, it is important to be transparent about the potential challenges that arise while pursuing this dual degree program, among others:

• The program length can be 6-9 years, which can feel daunting, especially when it may require residency and/or post-doctoral training afterwards
• There is potential for lost income early in your career as a clinician scientist
• Funding for jobs in both research and medicine can be limited at times (although in high demand at other times)
• It can be difficult to take 4+ years away from clinical training to pursue the PhD degree, and there can be challenges for students transitioning between these degrees, both academically and socially

There are multiple other ways to pursue training that leads to becoming a clinician scientist. Here are a few other options to think about:

• You can complete a full PhD before entering medical school. This gives you time to mature and grow This also gives you a different perspective heading into medical school. This method may also not rush you – you decide when you feel ready to complete your PhD and when to apply to medicine. However, once you enter the world of medicine, undergraduate medical school and residency could be anywhere from 6-10 years. You can still be involved in research during these years, but it will be constrained and it can be a challenge to maintain your publication record and productivity during this time as you pursue an eventual career in medicine and research. Your PhD work may not seem as relevant or current after years of medical training, especially when you eventually want to apply for grant funding or faculty positions.
• You can complete a PhD during residency, in a program such as a Clinician Investigator Program (CIP), or similar. This gives you time to really explore different research projects and clinical interests during medical school, and tailor your PhD research question to your clinical speciality, perhaps stemming from clinical problems you face daily with your patients. In this structure however, you may not have the same valuable, protected time as you would in graduate school. It may also not be as integrated as doing research prior to residency (such as in a combined MD/PhD program).
• There is also the option of not doing a PhD at all, and pursuing research opportunities through medical training. You can be a clinician scientist without a PhD.

Misconceptions about Admissions Requirements for MD/PhD Programs

When applying to medical school and to the MD/PhD program specifically, many of us were worried that we did not fulfill the unwritten requirements of such a competitive and challenging program. These fears and assumptions of seemingly impossible standards were supported by hearsay of fellow applicants and by the accomplishments of the outstanding individuals that had succeeded in being accepted into MD PhD programs. We are confident that many of the individuals reading this guide will have heard similar information and are harbouring similar fears and anxieties as we did when we were applying. With this section, we aim to dispel some of these common misconceptions and hope to encourage individuals to apply to MD PhD programs.

Misconception #1:  You need a first author Nature/NEJM paper to stand a chance.

While having published research to include on your application will certainly work in your favour with respect to increasing chances of being offered an interview or acceptance into MD/PhD programs, published research is not a requirement. Having published work related to a summer research project or to master’s work demonstrates a commitment to and a genuine interest in research, which is something that all MD PhD programs are seeking in applicants. However, having done the research even in the absence of a publication can also demonstrate these qualities. It is important not to be discouraged from applying simply due to a lack of publications; many of us were accepted into Canadian MD PhD programs without any. Also remember that if you are working on a research project that is close to being published, i.e. you are involved in completing final experiments before the paper is written, or you are contributing to a paper that is under review or revisions, you can speak about this if you are granted an interview to further show your interest in and dedication to research.

Misconception #2:  You need a master’s degree in order to stand a chance.

Again, while having had extensive experience in a research setting through the pursuit of graduate studies is an asset on an MD PhD application, it is not by any means a requirement. This notion is supported by the findings of a study published in 2017 reflecting information about the degrees of 132 Canadian MD/PhD program alumni, where it was reported that only thirty-one respondents (23.5%) of alumni had entered MD/PhD programs holding master’s degrees (Skinnider et al., 2017). Most individuals reported having only completed bachelor’s degrees prior to applying to MD/PhD programs. It is highly recommended that individuals demonstrate through their application (i.e. personal statements, past research experience, etc.) that they are committed to the clinician-scientist path. If you do this and as long as your application is competitive in other respects, we encourage you to apply to your MD/PhD program of choice.

Misconception #3:  You need to have a supervisor and/or lab and/or project lined up at the time that you are applying.

While some of the MD/PhD programs in Canada, like McGill and the University of British Columbia, expect students to attend their MD/PhD interviews having already thought about and even having contacted potential supervisors, this is not universal across all MD/PhD programs in Canada. The MD/PhD program at the University of Toronto, for example, does not require students to come to interviews prepared with a supervisor, lab, or project. Ultimately, this will vary by school; this guide does not aim to provide an exhaustive list of MD/PhD programs that require such preparations prior to interviews, as this information is available online. It is encouraged that students reach out to the MD/PhD program at their school(s) of choice to inquire about whether this is a requirement if it is not apparent on the MD/PhD program websites.

Misconception #4:  Pursuing an MD/PhD program is financially infeasible.

While it does take MD/PhD graduates longer to begin earning a staff-level salary as compared to their MD counterparts, MD/PhD students at all Canadian medical schools receive a stipend beginning in their first year of studies to offset living expenses associated with being in a lengthy program. Whether or not pursuing the MD/PhD program and earning only this baseline stipend for 8 years is financially infeasible is highly dependent on each student’s personal situation as related to balancing the stipend with expenses. Before applying to MD/PhD programs, it is encouraged that students reflect on their personal circumstances and expenses and investigate the funding arrangements at their institution of interest.

In addition to this baseline MD/PhD funding, students are encouraged to apply for competitive funding. There are several scholarships and grants funded by the universities, the provincial and federal governments, and other foundations/organizations, which students are encouraged to apply to. Furthermore, depending on the value of the award, students who are successful in receiving competitive funding may receive top-up funding from their graduate department or from their MD/PhD program. Furthermore, many MD/PhD students, like their MD counterparts take a line of credit when starting medical school to help with the costs of being in a lengthy program. While this option is not for everyone, it is an option if one feels that it is required.

Misconception #5:  You need to decide on a clinical specialty before pursuing the program.

It is not required to have decided on a clinical speciality before pursuing MD/PhD training. Many students enter MD/PhD programs without even having decided on the type of PhD that they want to pursue, and many end up pursuing a type or field of research that is completely new to them. There is the argument that having a clinical specialty in mind and being able to align the PhD field of study with this clinical speciality is helpful in terms of future career prospects, as it allows the individual to make connections within that sphere and as it will reflect favourably on the applicant during the residency matching process. However, because of the dedication and hard work that is demanded of MD/PhD students, pursuing an MD/PhD program in and of itself reflects favourably on the individual and will be beneficial in the residency matching process. To summarize, while it may be helpful to have an idea of a clinical speciality before pursuing the MD/PhD program, it is not a requirement or expectation.

Misconception #6:  Applying to the MD/PhD program increases your chances of getting a medical school interview as compared to applying to the MD program alone.

We, the writers of this chapter, have experienced mention from both past and present applicants that, for one reason or another, they came to believe that applying to the MD/PhD program at their school(s) or choice might increase their chances of getting a medical school interview. It is unclear where the idea that MD/PhD programs are a backdoor to medical school was derived, and we do not aim to address the possible sources. Based on what is published on MD/PhD program websites, there is no information to suggest that applying to the MD/PhD program at each respective school would increase an applicant’s chances of getting an MD interview. Furthermore, an applicant who is successful in gaining acceptance into an MD/PhD program would have gone through two separate interviews and would have had to demonstrate excellence in all of the areas assessed for general MD applicants, and additionally, would have had to show commitment and excellence within the research sphere.

If you are an individual that has a strong research background and has shown exceptional research productivity, then it is likely that MD/PhD programs would look upon your application favourably, but excellence in research does not waive the requirements for all of the other aspects assessed for MD programs (i.e. GPA, MCAT, extracurriculars, etc.). We would highly discourage anyone without a genuine interest in pursuing a clinician-scientist path from pursuing the MD/PhD program because of the belief that is a backdoor to medicine. Applying to MD/PhD programs with such motivations not only makes it more difficult for other applicants who are genuinely interested in the program to gain acceptance, but it would also be doing one’s self a disservice because the prog ram is challenging to begin with, and pursuing it without a genuine desire to do so would make it even more challenging.

MD/PhD Application Process

The overall MD/PhD application process is very similar to the MD application process: an initial application plus an interview prior to an offer of admission. The initial application is submitted to both programs. You can think of it as an additional application that accompanies your MD application to the admissions committee. Most, if not all, schools have two separate admissions committees: one MD/PhD committee and one MD committee. To be accepted to the MD/PhD program, both MD and MD/PhD applications must be successful.

It is important to note that every school has different requirements for their application. Commonly, some of these requirements include a CV highlighting research experiences, essay(s) answering why you want to pursue MD/PhD training which includes your field of interest, plus 2-3 strong recommendation letters from referees who have observed your research skills.

With any application, it is essential to plan ahead. By referring to and noting the important dates and deadlines from websites and guides of your program(s) of interest, you can plan and gather the necessary documentation for a successful application. It can be a daunting task since there may be many documents you need to prepare but try to spread out the work and treat it like a marathon, not a sprint. Also, if you are unsuccessful on your first try, reflect on your application, and try to find areas of weakness that you can improve on. Do not give up – many applicants apply multiple times before they get accepted!

MD/PhD Personal Statement

As previously mentioned, when applying to an MD/PhD program, some schools require additional MD/PhD essays accompanying the MD application. These materials generally focus on your research experiences, your motivation for pursuing a clinician-scientist pathway, and what you wish to pursue in your PhD. This may be required to be written in one short essay or required to be written in multiple separate essays. If written in one essay, it may be called a “personal statement” or “letter of intent”. It is important to read and carefully follow the instructions for the particular school you are applying to. Schools across Canada also have different application deadlines, so be sure to carefully make note of each deadline!

The MD/PhD essay is the best opportunity you have in order to make the case of why you will be most fulfilled working both as a physician and a scientist. This is a fine balancing act between your desire for patient interactions and your passion for research. If this is out of balance in your application, it may seem that you should apply to an MD only route or a PhD only route. This a common challenge that will re-occur throughout interviews as well.

Prior to writing your essay(s), it is best to give yourself enough time to reflect on your experiences and brainstorm your ideas. It is important to look up the skills and competencies that the school values (generally listed on their website) and try to reflect on your experiences that can highlight these skills. Another early and important task is to find a few trusted people that can commit to assisting you with editing later on. Constructive criticism is essential to enjoy science and wanting to combine the fields of science and medicine as a career. Brief anecdotes are always enjoyable to read and offer an inside look into who you are and is one of the best ways to make your essay unique. When writing an anecdote, it is important not only to write what you did, but to show reflection on what you have gained from these experiences and how it has shaped you moving forward. You want to make sure you highlight your understanding of the MD/PhD career path as well as your passion for it. It is important to be clear, direct, and concise with the points you make and remember to focus on answering the question.

When discussing your research background, it may not be necessary to include much detail, depending on the word limit of the essay. Also, when discussing your PhD research interests, most schools do not ask for a project proposal, so providing brief insight into your field of interest and briefly describing your research goals in that field is the best approach. It is normal to not know exactly what research you want to pursue at the time of applying and having an open mind is helpful in finding the right fit. It is sometimes the case that the research you propose in your application is not what you end up pursuing. This is okay; however, it is important to express what you are genuinely interested in so that the admissions committee can get to know you better.

Overall, these essays are an important part of the application since the admissions committee will be able to get a better idea of who you are and what your interests are. It is also a great opportunity to demonstrate your passion and understanding of the MD/PhD career path. Many applicants may want to focus on trying to stand out in their essays, however, if you are showcasing who you genuinely are, then you will stand out!

MD/PhD Interviews

If you have received an MD/PhD interview – well done, that is an accomplishment in itself! You are one step closer to your goal! You will notice that the MD/PhD interview session is in addition to the MD interview session. These interviews may be scheduled on the same day or on separate days. The format of the MD/PhD interview may be a series of multiple short interviews, or a panel in which you would need to present a short presentation (prepared in advance) plus a question period.

As you prepare for the interview, it is useful to think about why the program even interviews applicants. This is so that they can evaluate your communication skills, professionalism, and maturity; to hear your motivation to pursue medicine and science in your own spoken words; to hear your experiences and how it has confirmed your desire to become a clinician-scientist; to learn if you have realistic expectations of the career and the work-life balance; and to decide if you are going to be a suitable future colleague and peer that is enjoyable to work with.

The tips for your MD interview will also apply to your MD/PhD interview, but there are a number of ways in which the MD/PhD interview process is different. For instance, be prepared to speak about your research at different levels, for example, prepare an “elevator speech” (90-second duration) to describe your research to a non-expert audience. It would help if you also were comfortable to discuss your research with an expert in the field. Additionally, as previously mentioned, you should perform thorough research on the career to understand the profession and the expectations from it. Also, it is ideal to have some knowledge of the specific MD/PhD program you are applying to (how the program is structured, what resources are available, etc.) and how you envision yourself succeeding in it.

In terms of the PhD research you want to pursue, it would be helpful to identify a few Principal Investigators you would like to work with. More thought into the research field and questions you want to pursue can positively demonstrate your passion and critical thinking.

On a more general note, it is important when preparing for your interviews to start early and practice often! Practicing with as many people as possible can help you recognize different perspectives and provide you with more comprehensive feedback. Try to practice as many questions as you can but know that you will not be able to practice for every possible question, so becoming comfortable with spontaneity is imperative. Lastly, remember to be genuine with your responses and be confident – this is the final stage to showcase yourself as an ideal MD/PhD candidate!

What comes next?

We recognize that thinking about an eight-year program after undergrad sounds daunting itself, let alone thinking about what comes after that! However, a common thread of conversations with both our research and clinical mentors is that the MD/PhD program (and med school in general) — is  just the beginning  of a deeply fulfilling and meaningful career! In this section we aim to offer some insight into what that looks like. First, we begin by outlining the most likely pathway for MD/PhD graduates, further clinical training in the form of residency and fellowship to become an independent clinician-scientist. Next, we outline ‘non-traditional’ career paths other than that of a clinician-scientist in an academic medical centre. Finally, we end our chapter by sharing some brief messages from clinician-scientists across the country.

Walking further down the clinician-scientist pathway:

The majority of MD/PhD trainees in Canada and the United States pursue further clinical training after graduation. In a Canadian survey of MD/PhD program alumnae published in 2017, 99% of respondents had either completed or were currently in a residency program while 82% completed at least one fellowship program [CMAJ Open Paper]. The primary objective of residency programs is to train competent, independent clinicians–however, many residency programs incorporate some time for research. The amount of research time allocated during fellowship (i.e. subspecialty training programs) is often higher than residency and some MD/PhD alumnae also pursue a post-doctoral fellowship. Science moves quickly and MD/PhD trainees must be aware that it takes special efforts to remain connected with their scientific pursuits during the busy years of focused clinical training! All-in-all, the median training time for MD/PhD alumnae in Canada was 13.5 years. Following their training, 83% of respondents were appointed as faculty at an academic medical centre . They balance their time by conducting research, caring for patients, teaching trainees (from medical students to advanced subspecialty fellows) and various other administrative duties.

While a detailed overview of American MD/PhD programs is outside the scope of this resource, American ‘Medical-Scientist Training Programs (MSTPs)’ have been well studied. Some challenges for MD/PhD graduates are universal, such as financial constraints and not enough protected research time during clinical training to remain productive scientifically. In both Canada and the US, there are active calls to support MD/PhDs as the links from the “bench to the bedside” and drivers of clinical breakthroughs.

“Physician-scientists are among the most highly trained investigators in the research enterprise. Their efforts will be crucial to improving health care. Our world needs a growing, corps of professionals who bring a human understanding of patients to medical research, and a researcher’s expertise to improving patients’ lives.”

A fork in the road – non-traditional career paths for a clinician-scientist:

While the majority of MD/PhD alumnae enter careers as academic clinician-scientists, we briefly wanted to outline other career possibilities. These other career paths are not unique to physician-scientists, but also to our peers in clinical medicine and pure scientific/biomedical research. These careers outside academia and academic medicine include:entrepreneurshipmanagement consulting and wealth managementventure capitalpharmaceuticals, biotechnology, digital technologyhealthcare and non-profit managementhumanitarian responseeducationand more!

The reasons why MD/PhDs choose to enter alternative career paths are varied and often personal. However, what we wish to stress is that training in an MD/PhD program offers you skills that allow you to: identify meaningful problems, make sense of the intricacies around these problems, test your assumptions, generate new insights, design solutions, and translate them into real-world impact. These skills are extremely highly valued, no matter what field you choose to enter. A unique draw to a career as a clinician-scientist is that you are bound to have outlets to explore your interests and curiosity as they evolve over time. Many clinician-scientists spin-out their research into start-ups, consult for various companies, lead organizations, and more over the course of their careers. To use the old cliché, the world is your oyster.

When thinking of career paths, the authors have found the ‘careers blogs’ of Nature and Science to be invaluable resources of information, inspiration, and validation. Both journals also offer podcasts (Nature has one general podcast, one specific to career advice, and Science has one) that showcase innovative research across scientific disciplines. HelloPhD is another useful podcast for grad students, but has a strong American focus.

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OU Masters Programs Cost

Masters programs at Oklahoma universities can be a great way to expand your education and help advance your career. Some of these programs provide a four-year degree useful in a range of fields, such as: business, criminal justice, accounting, engineering and technology. Is there anything else you need to learn about OU Masters Programs Cost?…

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Norway is known for its gorgeous fjords and deep forests, as well as its very generous college education program. Read on to discover free college courses in Norway, why Norway’s free college system is better overall than the US, along with another country that also has a comprehensive tuition-free college education program. You may find…

Bachelor Of Industrial Engineering

The Bachelor of Industrial Engineering (BS) program objective is to help students apply scientific and mathematical principles to the design, improvement, and installation of integrated systems of people, material, information, and energy. The Bachelor of Industrial Engineering (BS) program is offered online via distance learning. After evaluating both academic record and life experience, AIU staff…

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A variety of study abroad programs are available at international universities. If you want to earn a best music schools in illinois degree abroad, you can enroll in just some of these programs, which is just one of many study abroad opportunities available. CollegeLearners contains many useful resources to learn more about music colleges in…