Last Updated: August 13, 2008

Disclaimer Notice: The following information was provided by MD/PhD students, and is not official data from the MD/PhD program administration or from APSA. For official information, please contact the program administration listed below. If you are aware of any outdated or incorrect information on this page, or if you can think of anything useful to include, please let us know at ssh@physicianscientists.org so that we may improve the page.

University of Wisconsin - Madison

Social Science/Humanities PhD Field Supported: Clinical Investigation, Population Health, Department of Social Sciences

Description of Program:

UW MSTP accepts applications from students interested in pursuing a PhD in Clinical Investigation, Population Health, or Medical History and Bioethics. The Clinical Investigation PhD focuses on coursework and theses relating to interventional human subjects’ research, and is funded from the Clinical and Translational Science Award from the National Institutes of Health. The Population Health PhD program is housed in the Medical School’s Department of Population Health Sciences, and the focus is epidemology or health services research. A PhD in the Medical School’s Department of Social Sciences offers training in medical history, bioethics, or medical anthropology.

Structure of Program:

UW’s program is a Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP). Typically MD/PhD students complete there first two years of medical school, Part I of the USMLE, and one clinical clerkship in internal medicine tailored to the needs of MD/PhD students. They then enter the PhD program of their choice. At that time, they essentially become typical graduate students in their department, and are subject to individual departmental regulations regarding qualifying exams, prelims, and theses. If medical courses overlap substantially with graduate school courses (rare in social sciences), the student may request that the courses count for credit or elective credit toward graduate work.

Required coursework depends on the program, but is typically two full years. The length of the PhD depends on the flexibility of the graduate program, the nature of the project, and of course how hard you work! Completion time for students range from 3-5 years. Students are encouraged to take an informal week or two clinical “refresher” rotation offered just prior to returning to the 3rd year (remember how to do a physical exam??). Students may also select a clinical preceptor and participate in ½ day of clinic every week or two as time allows during their PhD. After defending, students return to finish clinical clerkships.

Size of incoming joint MD/PhD class: 10

Number of students in the social sciences or humanities: roughly 1/year

Number of graduates from the Clinical Investigation PhD program: 2

Number of graduates from the Population Health PhD program: 0, 2 current students, 1 entering

Number of graduates from the Medical History and Bioethics program: 0, 1 entering

Application Process:

General MSTP Application: see http://mstp.med.wisc.edu/admissions/index.php

1. Complete application with the required transcripts and MCAT scores to the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS) indicating you are applying to the University of Wisconsin--Madison.

   • Complete an online Secondary Application by the December deadline

   • If you apply to the MSTP, you will be asked to submit a supplemental essay about life activities, an optional essay, and a re-applicant essay if you are re-applying.

   • You will also need to submit confidential letters of reference on your behalf. Three letters are to be academic letters of recommendation from faculty members OR one pre-professional committee recommendation letter PLUS one academic letter from an individual faculty member. The fourth letter is to be a non-academic letter from someone other than a faculty member. The committee is typically interested in the applicant’s academic, employment, service, and/or health related experiences. The letters should address one or more of the following: academic performance and intellectual ability, character, integrity, motivation for medicine, ability to relate and communicate with others, personality, and emotional stability.

2. Your secondary application will be reviewed by the MSTP admissions committee. You do not need to apply separately to the School of Medicine. If chosen for an MSTP interview, you will be invited to visit Madison for two full days of activities. You will be asked ahead of time to request faculty with whom you would be interested in meeting based on your PhD interests. You will meet with several of these faculty members, along with dedicated MD/PhD interviews. Meals will be with current MD/PhD students. The second day involves a tour of the campus and hospitals, time for an informal tour of Madison, and a potluck dinner at the home of one of the directors.

3. Once admitted to the MSTP, you are more or less guaranteed admission to the graduate program of your choice. Having said that, the communication regarding admission between the MSTP and the graduate departments are not always great, so you may have to do some advocating for yourself in that regard. However, I don’t know of an instance where a graduate program has not in the end accepted an MSTP student. The graduate program in which you are participating is expected to pay for your graduate schooling, but the MSTP guarantees funding throughout your training regardless.

Additional Notes on Applying to a Non-Traditional Program

1. Criteria for MSTP admission include prior academic performance, documented experience in research, and commitment to a career in research. The overall MSTP program interviews approximately 45 applicants and enroll 10 new MSTP trainees each year.

2. Your area of interest will not per se affect your likelihood of acceptance. HOWEVER, almost everyone on the admissions committee are professors in the basic or clinical sciences, and are NOT likely to intuitively understand your career path. Be SURE in your application that you communicate your interests and career in a way that would make sense to someone like your biochemistry professor. You will need to focus more on why there is a need for people with your career interest, i.e. it may not be immediately obvious why there is a critical need for anthropologists. You might also want to include why an MD/PhD is a good career path and why the work you plan to do is important and interesting.

   You don’t need to have your thesis topic in line the day you apply. But do realize that because your career path is not as well understood, you will need to argue for it more persuasively, and may therefore need a clearer idea of what you intend to do. If you don’t have it, what you can do is map out a plausible career path given your interests, and present that at your interviews. The committee will be particularly interested in an argument that supports the idea that your plan and career path is workable (i.e. that you will be able to find a job after your training is done...since they are basic or clinical scientists and won’t know your topic area).

3. Students who apply to the MSTP but are not offered a position may request consideration for the regular MD program on their application.

Funding:

MSTP trainees are guaranteed paid tuition and a stipend of $20,000/yr during the entirety of their program. During all years of medical school, funding comes from the NIH or School of Medicine. Grants, fellowships, or graduate programs are expected to pay for tuition and stipend during graduate years. It is generally not necessary for students to apply for funding (but it is a major feather in their cap if they get it...) Students are guaranteed at least $20,000 a year, but may have more if they successfully compete for a grant or position with a higher salary. Health insurance benefits for you and your family are always included, though some plans require an additional monthly fee (you can choose your plan).

The funding provided is summarized in the table below:
 

Contact information:

UW MSTP Office

Paul Cook, Administrator

Highland Ave Madison, WI

Telephone: (608)-262-6321

Email: pscook@wisc.edu

Web: http://mstp.med.wisc.edu