Program Information

The Program

The UT-Houston MD/PhD Program provides students pursuing careers as physician-scientists a unique opportunity to earn dual MD/ PhD degrees in a six to eight year integrated Program offered by UT Health Science Center at Houston and MD Anderson Cancer Center.

The Program was established in 1982 and is unique in its approach of allowing students to complete three years of Medical School before beginning their dissertation research. This is critical because it is not until the third year of Medical School that students actually evaluate patients, diagnose problems, and recommend treatment plans, and are thus prepared to understand limitations of current methods for preventing, diagnosing, and treating disease and to appreciate the importance of clinical and translational research.

Participating Institutions/Entities

The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHSC-H) – UTHSC-H is a comprehensive academic health sciences university with six schools (medicine, biomedical sciences, public health, health information sciences, dentistry and nursing) and research expenditures that exceed $191 million annually. The Medical School admits 230 students annually, and the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, which awards the PhD degree, has nearly 600 students.

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) – MDACC is one of the world's largest and most comprehensive centers for cancer treatment and research. Its faculty includes over 590 physicians and scientists, and its physical facilities include a 514-bed teaching hospital and over 475,000 square feet of active research space.

Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences (CCTS) – The CCTS was established to promote clinical and translational research at UTHSC-H, MDACC, and the Memorial Hermann Hospital System. It is one of the original 12 such centers funded by NIH in 2006 when it received initial funding of $36 million.

Faculty

The MD/PhD Program has nearly 600 faculty members from MD Anderson Cancer Center and UT Health Science Center at Houston and their research interests span the entire spectrum of the biomedical sciences.

Curriculum

The MD/PhD Program includes a traditional four year Medical School curriculum, and additional courses and research required for the PhD degree. The PhD requirements include: three lab tutorials, ethics in biomedical research, biostatistics (or other approved quantitative course), participation in an ongoing MD/PhD seminar on topics in molecular medicine, written and oral candidacy exams, and completion of the dissertation research and defense.

Students entering the Program complete the first three years of Medical School before beginning their dissertation research, and the last year in the Program is devoted to completing fourth year Medical School (MS) electives and clerkships. A typical sequence of coursework is outlined below.

Year 1
Summer - research tutorials and biostatistics
Fall and spring – MS year 1
Topics in Molecular Medicine Seminar (ongoing)

Year 2
Summer - research tutorial
Fall and spring – MS year 2
Topics in Molecular Medicine Seminar (ongoing)
USMLE Step 1

Year 3
Fall and spring – MS year 3
USMLE Step 2
Summer - begin research training

Years 4, 5, and 6 (varies among students)
Research, candidacy exams, and dissertation defense
Topics in Molecular Medicine Seminar (ongoing)

Final year
Fall and spring – MS year 4