The National Research Council, in addressing the nation’s changing needs for biomedical and behavioral sciences, indicates that there is a dearth of physician-scientists. This program is designed to facilitate the progress of a physician toward the completion of the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Biology Program. The student will apply to the Ph.D. program and will complete all of the requirements for the degree, except that the course schedule will reflect credit being given for courses taken in their medical school curriculum. This should significantly reduce the time involved in completing the formal portion of the program. While the time required for the dissertation portion of the program cannot be specified, it is anticipated that the program can be completed in approximately 36 months.

Application Process

The applicant will follow the general guidelines for all applicants to the program, except that the requirement for the standardized test (GRE) may be waived.

Degree Requirements

The program requires 72 post-baccalaureate credit hours. Transfer credit will be assigned for courses taken in the medical school curriculum following evaluation of the transcripts. Credit toward the Ph.D. degree for courses transferred from a typical medical school curriculum might include: Chem 8101 Biochemical Principles (4), Biol 8104 Integrative Systems Physiology (4), Biol 8103 Microbiology and Immunology (4), Phil 8050 Biomedical Ethics (1). All other degree requirements for the Ph.D. degree must be met.

The following example of a modified course schedule reflects credit being given for many of the courses that are generally taken in a traditional medical school curriculum.

Research until dissertation completed

Candidacy Exam (grant proposal defense) will probably be taken at the end of the first year or first summer.

Support

Clinical Shifts: The Ph.D. candidate may work limited clinical shifts (4-6/month), to provide a basic income while in the program and will likely receive staff employee benefits.

Grants: The Ph.D. candidate will be expected to submit grant applications for additional support of salary and research costs. Some examples of relevant funding agencies include:

• SAEM- Resident Research Award

• EMF- Research Fellowship

• Pharmaceutical companies

• Health Services Foundations

• NIH Predoctoral Fellowships

The faculty advisor will also submit grant applications to help support the fellow.