M.D./Ph.D. Program

MD/PhD Guidelines

The overall University and Molecular Pharmacology program requirements for obtaining a Ph.D. are the same for M.D./Ph.D. students. However, M.D./Ph.D. students obtain advance credit for medical school coursework and laboratory rotations completed prior to enrollment.

• M.D./Ph.D. Students: Coursework

M.D./Ph.D. students entering the Molecular Pharmacology program receive 16 credit hours for their M.D. coursework that is applied towards the 32 credit hours of coursework required by the University. In addition, prior to formally entering the Molecular Pharmacology program, students will have received 9 addition credit hours derived from the completion of INTBP required courses. These include 4 credits for Foundations of Biomedical Sciences Conference (INTBP 2005), 2 credit hours for two laboratory rotations (INTBP 2020; 1 credit hour each) and 3 credits for Introduction to Statistical Methods (BIOST 2041). BIOST 2041 is required in addition to the Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics course taken during the first year of medical school. If an equivalent graduate level statistics course has already been completed with a grade of B or better, the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies may be petitioned in writing for permission to credit out of this course. Documentation to support the petition must include a textbook used for the course or a syllabus that includes a detailed description of the course. Thus, M.D./Ph.D. students will enter the Molecular Pharmacology Program with 25 of their 32 required credit hours of coursework already completed.

The remainder of the 7 credit hours of required coursework will be taken from both required Molecular Pharmacology courses (6 credit hours) and an elective course. The elective can be taken from either course offerings of the Molecular Pharmacology program or any graduate program that is included in the M.D./Ph.D. program.

Required Courses for M.D./Ph.D. Students in Molecular Pharmacology Program

1. Either Molecular Pharmacology (3 credit hours), Biology of Signal Transduction (3 credit hours),
Cancer Biology & Therapeutics (3 credit hours) OR Neuropharmacology (3 credit hours).

• M.D./Ph.D. Students: Comprehensive Examination

All M.D./Ph.D. students in the Molecular Pharmacology program are required to complete their comprehensive examination during their first graduate year. A full description of the Comprehensive Examination is contained in the Molecular Pharmacology Graduate Student Handbook. After completing the Comprehensive Examination, students may submit the Application to Candidacy form. This ensures that students can obtain Ph.D. Dissertation Credit Hours beginning in Fall term of the second year. The University requires that Ph.D. students accumulate at least 40 credit hours of Ph.D. Dissertation Research, which requires a minimum of 1.5 years to complete. A Doctoral Committee is formed according to program guidelines (see Graduate Student Handbook) and will meet with the student soon after completion of the Comprehensive Examination.

• M.D./Ph.D. Students: Ph.D. Dissertation Proposal

At the first meeting of the Doctoral Committee, the students must present a written research proposal (i.e. Dissertation Proposal). This proposal should detail the intended course of the dissertation research, and should include an indication of experimental techniques to be used, but need not provide extended experimental details or preliminary data. The proposal must gain the unanimous approval of the Doctoral Committee to be considered acceptable. If deemed unacceptable, the student will be given an opportunity to present the proposal at a later date.

• M.D./Ph.D. Students: Subsequent Years and Completion

Students focus on dissertation research and are required to meet with their Doctoral Committee every six months to discuss progress and future plans. The final copy of the dissertation will be submitted to the Doctoral Committee. The thesis defense will consist of a public seminar on the subject of the dissertation, followed by an examination by the Doctoral Committee, and chaired by a member of the Doctoral Committee other than the major advisor. Nonmembers of the Doctoral Committee who make a prior request may attend this latter examination, but such visitors may not participate in the questioning. Approval of the Thesis will be granted if there is no more than one dissenting vote by full members of the Doctoral Committee exclusive of the major advisor. Additional details regarding content and style of the dissertation are provided in the Molecular Pharmacology Graduate Student Handbook

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