Keck School of Medicine
Degrees and Requirements
M.D./Ph.D. Program
Departments and programs of the University of Southern California and the California Institute of Technology participate in the joint M.D./Ph.D. degree program administrated by the USC Graduate School, the Keck School of Medicine and the California Institute of Technology. This program integrates the medical school curriculum with graduate curricula in the basic sciences, to provide a unified course of study leading to both the M.D. and Ph.D. degrees.
This program is especially designed to prepare highly qualified students for careers in academic medicine and medical research. Formal course work and dissertation research provide the student with in-depth scientific preparation and research experience which enhances the application of basic science information to the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease. Conversely, the Ph.D. education becomes more meaningful because of its disease-oriented emphasis.
The curriculum for M.D./Ph.D. students differs from that of Ph.D. graduate students in the basic sciences in that the former take medical school courses as well as selected graduate level basic science courses and specific courses designed for M.D./Ph.D. students. The integrated training of the M.D./Ph.D. program enables students to compress their total academic effort by applying some course work toward the requirements of both degrees. On average, completion of the combined program requires a total of eight years.
The following graduate programs from the Keck School of Medicine participate in the M.D./Ph.D. program:
Cancer Biology and Genomics
Development, Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine
Medical Biology
Molecular Structure and Signaling
Biological Sciences/Neurosciences, Molecular and Computational Biology
Engineering
Preventive Medicine (Biostatistics, Epidemiology, IPR/Health Behavior, Molecular Epidemiology)
Selected graduate programs from the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences also participate in the combined degree program.
Time limits for qualifying examinations and other procedures are determined by considering M.D./Ph.D. students as medical students for the periods when they are following the medical curriculum and as full-time graduate students during their years of graduate research prior to advancement to the Junior/Senior Continuum.
M.D./Ph.D. candidates have the option of pursuing a laboratory experience before beginning the Year I medical curriculum through a laboratory rotation at either USC or the California Institute of Technology. This laboratory experience is strongly encouraged although not required.
During the first two years of their program, M.D./Ph.D. students follow the medical school curriculum and gain added exposure to research faculty through a special survey course. Students are guided by the M.D./Ph.D. executive committee, which outlines the integration of the graduate program with the medical school curriculum and serves as the students’ liaison until they have selected a graduate program and graduate research adviser. The graduate programs vary widely in the extent to which they allow credit toward the Ph.D. for courses taken during the first two years of medical school. M.D./Ph.D. students are encouraged to select a graduate program by early spring of the second year of medical school. Students are required to apply for admission to the Ph.D. program of their choice by the recommended deadline on the graduate application.
Prior to entering Ph.D. studies, the Keck School of Medicine allows M.D./Ph.D. candidates the option of beginning their clinical training by taking one six-week required clerkship in either Family Medicine or Pediatrics. This can provide an early introduction to clinical medicine and a context for integration with the basic sciences of the thesis years.
Beginning with the third year of the M.D./Ph.D. program, students enter their selected program as full-time graduate students. Although the content of graduate courses required of M.D./Ph.D. students is generally identical to that required of Ph.D. students in the same graduate program, M.D./Ph.D. students are permitted greater latitude in the scheduling of their graduate courses. Four years are commonly necessary to fulfill requirements for the Ph.D., including course work, qualifying examinations, independent dissertation research, and writing of the dissertation.
After completion of the graduate program, the student is advanced to the Junior/Senior Continuum and completes the final two years of clinical training required by the medical school curriculum. No portion of clinical training is deleted from the joint program. Prior to entering the clinical component of the joint degree, students will be expected to participate in a clinical shadowing experience, which could be done throughout the Ph.D. studies or as part of an intensive program prior to entering the clinic. Students will also be required to participate in the Medical Scholars Program clinical tutoring skills program held in the spring of each year and re-take the Year II Objective Structured Clinical Examination at the end of May with the second year medical students.
Keck School of Medicine-Caltech M.D./Ph.D. Program
A joint program between the Keck School of Medicine and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) was established for the granting of the M.D./Ph.D. degree. Students do their preclinical and clinical work at the Keck School of Medicine and their Ph.D. work with any member of the Caltech faculty, including the biology, chemistry, engineering, applied sciences divisions and interdisciplinary programs divisions.
Admission to this joint program is made through the usual Keck/USC M.D./Ph.D. process. All applicants are interviewed at Keck School of Medicine and Caltech. Matriculated students in this program have the option of doing their Ph.D. at USC or Caltech. The M.D. degree will be awarded from the Keck School of Medicine and the Ph.D. from Caltech.
Further information about the M.D./Ph.D. program at the Keck School of Medicine may be obtained by contacting: M.D./Ph.D. Program, Keck School of Medicine, 1975 Zonal Avenue (KAM 200), Los Angeles, CA 90089-9023; (323) 442-2965, FAX: (323) 442-2318; email mdphdpgm@usc.edu.