About The Program
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INTEGRATED MEDICAL SCIENTIST PROGRAM
(IMSP)
The Medical School’s Independent Study Program (ISP) and IBGP have developed a unique MD/PhD program that coordinates the learning resources of both programs. It is offered to a limited number of highly motivated talented students. Essential aspects of this program are presented below. There are several aspects of this program that enrich the learning experiences to prepare students for academic careers as medical scientists.
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During Med 1 the ISP modules are synchronized with material covered in the IBGP core courses making it possible to complete Med 1 and most of the IBGP core in 14 months (one year less than traditional programs).
- Patient-Centered Research – a course developed specifically to address issues critical for MD/PhD students, is taken during Year 1.
- During the second year, students take anatomy, most of the remaining IBGP core courses, and ISP modules for Med 2.
- Students take Clinical Assessment and Program Solving (CAPS) I and II – courses that focus on the care of undifferentiated patients, history taking, physical examination, communication skills, behavioral medicine topics, and advanced physical examination techniques. Difficult topics in patient care will also be discussed: violence, human development, diversity, ethics, sexuality, addiction, pain and palliative medicine, integrative medicine, and health care organization and finance.
- Students take Step 1 of the USMLE at the end of Year 2.
- At the end of Year 3, students take the Graduate School candidacy examination.
- Years 3 to 5 (or 6) consist mainly of dissertation research, but during this time students will also continue with the longitudinal preceptorship begun in CAPS 1.
- During all years students will attend the MSSO seminars and participate in both the annual MSP Retreat and the Medical Center’s Research Day.
MD/Biomedical Engineering Program
(MD/BME)
This is a 7-year Fellowship program, competitively awarded, with the 4 Medical School years funded by the MSP program, and the 3 (or more) Graduate School years funded by the Biomedical Engineering Program (BME). The course requirements for the Biomedical Engineering PhD component of the MSP remain the same as the stand-alone doctoral degree in BME, with the life science requirement being met by the Med 1 and Med 2 curriculum of the Medical School.
Doctoral Program and Requirements
The MSP student and advisor work out a program of study and submit it to the Biomedical Engineering Graduate Studies Committee (BMEGSC) for approval.
The program must have one major area in a biomedical engineering field (e.g. bioimaging, biomechanics, biomaterials, bio-nanotechnology, etc.), and one or two minor areas in supporting fields of life sciences or engineering (e.g. cardiovascular physiology, vision science, etc.). The major area should consist of courses comprising at least 25 credit hours. Students may choose to have two minors with each minor area consisting of at least 12 credit hours of related courses, or one minor consisting of at least 18 credit hours of related courses. The student and research advisor (who supervises the major exam) are responsible for identifying a supervisor in each of the minor areas, as well as a second supervisor of the major area for a total of four supervisors who form the Advisory Committee. Students whose program has only one minor should work with their advisor to determine a fourth faculty member to be added to either the major or minor area.
At least 40 hours of coursework must be in engineering disciplines (including CIS, Math, and Statistics). The distribution of such courses must be appropriate for each individual student’s program, as determined by the student and advisor, and approved by the Graduate Studies Committee. MSP students will receive 30 graduate credit hours upon completion of Med 1, and 15 graduate credit hours after completion of Med 3, for a total of 45 credit hours that will count toward the life science requirement of the doctoral program. This brings the courswork requirement to a minimum of 85 credit hours of graduate courses plus 50 credit hours of thesis research, for a total of 135 credit hours.
The selection of courses is individually tailored to the student’s background, interests and thesis research. However, some courses are required of all students, including:
Course Number and Name Credits
BME 600, Introduction to Biomedical Engineering 3
BME 771, Biomedical Instrumentation 4
BME 881, Seminar in Biomedical Engineering
(PhD students will be expected to give seminars on their work) 2
Statistics-based course on research design or model building
(e.g. Statistics 641 or 645)
The program of study to be submitted to the BMEGSC should include:
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A concise course list with credit hours in each major and minor area, as well as any additional courses, and a schedule for completing the courses. Important information regarding the format and distribution of courses are available on templates in the Biomedical Engineering Computing Center (BMECC).
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The examiner(s) for each area (Advisory Committee) with the exception of a minor in statistics.
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Signed approval by research advisor and all examiners (Advisory Committee), and the core contact.
Approval of changes to a previously approved program should be requested of the BMEGSC in a letter stating the changes an their justification. The letter must first be approved by the student’s PhD advisor.
Sequence and Timing of the MD/BME Program
Students accepted into the MD/BME Program will begin Graduate School during the first year of their Fellowship. During the early part of this year, the advisor will be chosen through “rotations” implemented with BME 793 Individual Studies, and the dissertation topic will be defined. Students will register for 15 credit hours per quarter, which is a requirement for holding a Fellowship, with a mixture of course and research credit. The technical coursework will be completed during this first year, along with approximately 20 credit hours of research (BME 999), and BME 881 seminar. It is advisable to begin in the summer to allow 5 full quarters of courses prior to beginning Med 1, in order to begin the process of choosing an advisor via research rotations. A second year of graduate school may be also completed prior to Med 1, depending on the needs of the individual student.
Students will continue their research, and register for BME 999, integrated with the Med 1 and Med 2 curricula, during the second and third year of their Fellowship, respectively. Upon completion of Med 2, students will take Step 1 of the Boards, and subsequently, their Candidacy Exam. After centering Candidacy, students will complete their research during the next two years, and return to Med 3 in Year 5 of their Fellowship, after receive the PhD. During this time, the MSP will assign a clinical preceptor with whom the student will gain clinical experience for 4 hours per month. Med 3 and Med 4 will be completed during Years 6 and 7. During all years, students will attend the MSSO seminars and participate in both the annual MSP Retreat and the Medical Center’s Research Day.
Neuroscience Medical Scientist Program
(NMSP)
The Medical School’s Independent Study Program (ISP) and the Neuroscience Graduate Studies Program (NGSP) have developed a unique MD/PhD program that coordinates the learning resources of both programs. It is offered to a limited number of highly motivated talented students. Essential aspects of this program are presented below. There are several aspects of this program that enrich the learning experiences to prepare students for academic careers as medical scientists.