MD-MS in Biomedical Sciences
The MD/Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences (MD/MS) dual degree program at Columbia reflects our commitment to develop clinicians who will be leaders in advancing medical research, practice, policy and education. By integrating research training with medical education, this program seeks to provide opportunities for you to pursue your research interests and enhance your research skills.
The MD/MS program is open both to students who were engaged in research before attending medical school and to those who are new to medical research. So, you don’t need prior research experience to pursue the MD/MS dual degree.
The centerpiece of the MD/MS program is the opportunity to conduct original research under the supervision of a mentor or team of mentors in a medical field of interest to you. This dual degree program supports exploration of diverse interests. You may choose to pursue research in any one of the following areas: 1. basic and translational research, 2. clinical research, 3. global and population health, 4. medical education, 5. narrative and social medicine, 6. precision medicine and 7. biomedical informatics.
The program requires you to:
- complete some graduate coursework related to your research
- articulate and develop a hypothesis-driven research proposal and
- conduct a year of mentored research that results in a Master’s thesis.
The MD/MS dual degree requires 30 credits of classwork:
- +10 credits: Fundamentals coursework applied
- +5 credits: Master’s Thesis
- - 12-14 months of research between 3rd & 4th year
- +3 credits: Biostatistics course
- +12 credits: Courses of your choice based on research focus
If you did summer research and submitted a capstone, that would be an additional 3 credits.
The program culminates in a Master’s thesis, the public presentation of your research, and the conferral of the MD/MS degree. It does not require additional tuition costs beyond the MD degree and it can be pursued in five years.
Contact Us
For more information, please contact StudentResearchatPS@cumc.columbia.edu.