The Tri-Institutional MD-PhD Program is training physician-scientists who will become the next generation of leaders in biomedical research. Weill Cornell Medical College, The Rockefeller University and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center combine to form one of the few inter-institutional collaborations dedicated to joint MD and PhD training.
The following page provides key information and links to resources for students currently enrolled in the Tri-Institutional MD-PhD Program and considering Weill Cornell Graduate School (WCGS) for their doctoral studies.
Contacts
Initial inquiries and general information requests prior to beginning the PhD phase may be directed to the MD-PhD Office's Contact Web Page or the following:
Tri-Institutional MD-PhD Program
1300 York Avenue, Room C-103
New York, NY 10065-4805
Telephone: (212) 746-6023
Fax: (212) 746-8678
Email: mdphd@med.cornell.edu
Students currently enrolled in the MD-PhD Program who wish to complete their PhD research with a PI at Weill Cornell Graduate School may contact:
Anjali M. Rajadhyaksha, Ph.D.
Professor of Neuroscience
Associate Dean, Program Development
Molecular and Developmental Neuroscience Laboratory
Telephone: (212) 746-5999
Email: amr2011@med.cornell.edu
Once enrolled in the PhD phase at Weill Cornell Graduate School, the student's point of contact is their PhD program coordinator.
Program Length and Academic Requirements
It is the aim of the Tri-Institutional MD-PhD Program to have the students complete their studies in 7 years: 3½ years of medical school education and 3½ years of research training. This is an ambitious schedule, and some students may need 4½ years to complete their research training (for a total of 8 years in the Program).
Students in the MD-PhD Program are required to complete a number of academic requirements during their PhD research training. These include, but are not limited to the following:
- Five course units, at least one of which must be in quantitative biology (modeling and statistical methods).
- All graduate courses across the three participating institutions are open to MD-PhD students, regardless of the graduate school in which they matriculate, assuming the student satisfies the course prerequisites and there is room in the course.
- MD-PhD students must take at least one course offered by the graduate program in which they enroll.
- All MD/PhD students are required to register for Dissertation Research (REST) each term they are not enrolled in other coursework during their PhD research training.
- In addition to the five course units described above, students are expected to actively participate in seminars and retreats as per graduate school policies for PhD students, as well as the MD-PhD Program’s Annual Retreats.
- MD-PhD students must submit a Thesis Research Proposal (TRP) by August 31 of their second year of PhD research training. Students must successfully defend the TRP in their Admission to Candidacy Examination (ACE) by October 31 of this same year. Permission to extend these deadlines must be obtained from the MD-PhD Program Director.
- After successfully presenting/defending their TRP, students are expected to:
- Submit an application for independent fellowship support (e.g., an F30 application for a predoctoral National Research Service Award) based on their TRP
- Demonstrate satisfactory progress at bi-annual committee meetings
- Annually present original data in a formal scientific venue (e.g. a talk at the annual MD-PhD retreat or WCGS Du Vigneaud Memorial Symposium; a poster/presentation at a national or international scientific meeting).
- Students are expected to have defended their thesis by the fall semester of their fourth year of PhD research training.