MSTP students follow the MD curriculum for year 1, year 2, and the final year.
Year 1 — Foundations of Patient Care 1 & 2
Year 2 — Core Clinical Science Year
Final Year — An Elective Year in Clinical Science
Years 3, 4, 5, 6 — The Graduate (PhD) Years
During the third, fourth, fifth and sixth years of the program, the trainee pursues graduate study to satisfy the requirements for the PhD degree. These requirements include: completion of necessary course work, adequate performance in the preliminary examination, original research suitable for a dissertation, and successful defense of the thesis in the final examination. Detailed descriptions of the other general requirements for the PhD degree are stated in the Bulletin of the Graduate School.
The graduate curriculum of each trainee is developed in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) of the department in which the trainee elects to study and requires the approval of the Medical Scientist Training Program Committee.
Trainees are encouraged to select coursework which relate to their individual interests rather than follow a prescribed curriculum applied to all students in a given discipline. Such range, flexibility, and freedom are the essence of graduate education. The original research and dissertation of each trainee is supervised by a faculty mentor chosen by the trainee in consultation with the DGS in the appropriate department/program. Progress is monitored by a thesis committee selected by the student in consultation with the faculty mentor. This committee generally administers the preliminary examination before the student commences original research and the final examination after the student completes the dissertation.
During the PhD years MSTP students can participate in non-credit continuity clinics that meet one afternoon a week. MSTP students also enroll, during the fourth year, in a one-month continuity clinic for which they receive credit.