Course of Study

The Medical Scientist Training Program at Northwestern University is supported by the National Institutes of Health Medical Scientist Training Program grant, awarded to only 41 combined MD-PhD programs.

MSTP students at Northwestern University complete both doctoral degrees at Northwestern, earning the MD from the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern and the PhD in Biological Sciences (biology, biochemistry, genetics, immunology, microbiology, molecular biology, pathology, pharmacology, physiology), Neuroscience, Biomedical Engineering, Chemical and Biological Engineering, or Chemistry. Graduates of the Northwestern MSTP typically pursue residency training, followed by clinical fellowship or basic science post-doctoral fellowship training, and then enter positions in academic medical centers, government, and pharamceutical companies.

As described below, students complete both their MD and PhD degrees at Northwestern University in a course of study that integrates life sciences graduate research with state-of-the art medical education in the Feinberg School of Medicine (FSM) and its affiliated teaching hospitals. The extensive advising program and activities that bring together MSTP students in all years of training are also described below.

Most MSTP students at Northwestern complete two years of medical school and Step I of the national board exam (USMLE Step I) before their Ph.D., then complete the entire Ph.D. program, and finally return to medical school to finish the third and fourth years and Step 2 of the national board exam (USMLE Step II). Entering students are encouraged (but not required) to complete a research laboratory rotation before the first year of medical school. By the end of the first year in the program, students complete at least two research rotations and choose a thesis advisor. An alternative schedule is to complete only the first year of medical school, then the entire graduate program, returning to the second, third, and fourth years of medical school. Students following this alternative schedule complete Step I of the national board exam after the second year of medical school and Step II during the fourth year of medical school.

Most MSTP students choose the"2 + 2" schedule:

Some MSTP students choose this "1 + 3" schedule:

Considerable flexibility is built into the program, as students choose among six life science doctoral programs available throughout the university (see below) and a range of research and clinical electives.

MSTP students at Northwestern meet M.D. requirements for the Feinberg School of Medicine and Ph.D. requirements for the Graduate School in less time than if the degrees were pursued separately because they receive credit toward both degrees for some courses. To ensure that MSTP students receive maximal benefit from their combined degree studies, MSTP students receive 3 months of elective credit in the fourth year of medical school. Since the Graduate School awards credit for the first two years of medical school, MSTP students also receive credit for 6 quarters in the graduate school curriculum. This enables MSTP students to complete the remaining advanced graduate school courses and pass the qualifying examination for admission to candidacy at the end of the first year in graduate school.

PhD Research Options

Students can pursue their Ph.D .degree in any of the following graduate programs at either the Chicago campus or the Evanston campus: biology, biochemistry, biomedical engineering, cell biology, chemistry, chemical and biological engineering, genetics, molecular biology, immunology, microbiology, neuroscience, pharmacology, and physiology.

• Ph.D. in Life Sciences from the Integrated Graduate Program (IGP) at the Chicago campus.

• PhD in Life Sciences from the Interdepartmental Biological Sciences Program (IBiS) at the Evanston campus.

• Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the Northwestern University Interdepartmental Neuroscience(NUIN) Program at either the Chicago and Evanston campuses.

• Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the Biomedical Engineering Graduate Program (BME) at the Evanston campus.

• Ph.D. in Chemistry from the Chemistry Graduate Program (CHEM) at the Evanston campus.
• Ph.D. in Chemical and Biological Engineering from the Chemical and Biological Engineering Graduate Program (ChBE) at the Evanston campus.

Northwestern University has three interdisciplinary Ph.D. programs in the life sciences to prepare students in the fundamentals of cellular, molecular, and structural biology, one at each campus. The Integrated Graduate Program (IGP) is the interdisciplinary program in life sciences based at the Chicago campus where the medical school is located. The IGP eliminates traditional boundaries associated with department, program, and center affiliations and features faculty in basic science and clinical departments at the Feinberg School of Medicine and at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Children's Hospital, and the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. The Interdepartmental Biological Science Program (IBiS) is the interdisciplinary program in life sciences based at the Evanston campus. The IBiS program also eliminates traditional boundaries associated with department, program, and center affiliations and features faculty in basic science and clinical departments at the Evanston campus and at Evanston Northwestern Healthcare. The Northwestern University Indepartmental Neuroscience (NUIN) Program is an interdisciplinary neuroscience program at both the Chicago and Evanston campuses and provides training in the entire range of neuroscience research.

Northwestern University also offers three department-based Ph.D. programs for MSTP students - Biomedical Engineering, Chemical and Biological Engineering, and Chemistry. The Biomedical Engineering (BME) Program integrates the physical sciences and engineering with the study of biology and medicine. The BME program admits students with or without an engineering background and offers research opportunities that cross disciplinary boundaries in biomedical engineering, nanotechnology, and biology. The Chemical and Biological Engineering Department (ChBE) integrates chemistry and biology with engineering. Like the BME program, the ChBE program admits students with or without an engineering background and offers research opportunities that cross disciplinary boundaries in chemistry, chemical engineering, nanotechnology, and biology. The Chemistry Department provides a common ground for interdisciplinary research in biology and chemistry and offers research opportunities that cross disciplinary boundaries, e.g., medicinal chemistry, drug dicsovery, chemical biology, molecular imaging, and nanotechnology.

Advising

One of the strengths of the MSTP at Northwestern is the emphasis on advising students throughout all eight years of training. Led and coordinated by the MSTP Director, Dr. David Engman(click here for a message from our Director), and the MSTP Associate Director, Dr. Sandra Lee, throughout all eight years, students are also advised by many faculty appropriate for the different phases of training. Prior to matriculation, the Director and Associate Director advise entering students on their choice of a preceptor for a pre-matriculation lab rotation, based on their research interests. Students complete research rotations in the summer before the first (optional) and second years in the program. The dual purposes of these rotations are to provide students opportunities to explore particular research areas, thesis advisers, and research environments and to afford faculty an opportunity to mentor and evaluate students. Throughout the first and second years of medical school, MSTP students are formally advised by a research faculty member appointed as the MSTP Class Advisor and by the MSTP Director and Associate Director and informally by faculty participating in the weekly MSTP Journal Club. During their Ph.D. research, MSTP students are advised by both their Ph.D. thesis adviser and Thesis Committee. Upon returning to medical school, MSTP students are also advised by clinical and research faculty members appropriate for the student's choice of residency training and research interests.

Special Programs

In their first two years, students typically complete the preclinical curriculum of medical school and two courses for MSTP students. Topics in Molecular and Translational Medicine is a weekly journal club led by research faculty from diverse fields of life sciences and engineering research. First year students meet on Wednesdays throughout the first year of medical school and second year students meet on Thursdays throughout the second year of medical school.

Throughout all eight years, students participate every 3rd or 4th Wednesday night in a third course for MSTP students - MSTP Grand Rounds. This is a combined clinical and translational research conference co-led by a senior MSTP student (3rd or 4th year medical student) who presents a clinical case study and by a junior MSTP student (graduate phase student) who leads provides an overview of recent clinical and translational research relevant to the clinical case.

The Women's Forum provides an opportunity for women in the Program to gather twice a year to discuss the particular challenges they will face balancing family life and career. The goal is to introduce physician-scientists who are role models for successful careers.

The Annual Student-Faculty Retreat provides an opportunity for all MSTP students, their thesis advisers and class advisers to share their research findings and discuss career development with faculty and alumni speakers.

Round Table Discussions also are held twice a year during which students select topics for discussion with the Director and with faculty panels.

Among the annual events are the Graduate Reception during Senior Week in May honoring this year's MSTP graduates, the Class Advisers-Student Chinatown dinner, and the Annual Student-Faculty Retreat, held either in summer or autumn.