UConn’s MD/PhD program provides students with an intellectually stimulating and highly integrated educational experience leading to completion of both the MD and PhD degrees. With many alumni matched to highly competitive residencies, the UConn MD/PhD program prepares its graduates for successful careers in both medicine and science.

Mission

The mission of our MD/PhD program is to prepare individuals of outstanding potential for productive careers as physician-scientists. The program emphasizes the development of skills necessary to become a highly competent and caring physician and to perform, evaluate, and communicate the results of independent research in the biomedical sciences.

Furthermore, we strongly believe in the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in science and medicine.  Essential to this is our giving opportunities for students of all backgrounds including underrepresented minority groups, disadvantaged backgrounds, and those with disabilities. We are committed to provide individualized support for students from underrepresented or underprivileged backgrounds.

Our program is dedicated to high quality medical and graduate education tailored to the needs of the individual student. We are a close-knit community of students, faculty, and staff. Collegiality and mentorship are key aspects of the program.

Program Structure

MD/PhD students matriculate for the first 18 months with the regular MD students before they pursue their graduate studies, taking four years to complete their PhD, and then return for clinical clerkships. During the first two years, in addition to completing the preclinical requirements of the medical school curriculum, students pursue select graduate school coursework and two to three laboratory rotations. Incoming MD/PhD students  have the option to complete their first laboratory rotation the summer before matriculation.

There is an emphasis in continuity of clinical education, providing opportunity to practice clinical skills on patients from the start of medical school and throughout the graduate phase, better preparing students to excel in clinical rotations. Students remain actively involved in the program during all phases of their training via weekly research club, symposiums, leadership opportunities, and other events.

As part of the longitudinal clinical experience, students are required to continue clinical activities in community service clinics or in specialty clinics for a half day per month during the graduate phase in order to maintain their clinical skills. Following successful completion of requirements for the Ph.D. degree, students return to medical school to complete two years of clinical training.

For a full breakdown of program structure, see our page on the mDelta Curriculum for MD/PhD Students.

Medical Education

UConn School of Medicine is one of the nation's leading public medical schools, featuring a modern, case-based learning curriculum, early clinical experience, and  state-of-the-art facilities for clinical simulation, virtual and cadaverial anatomy education

MD/PhD students engage in UConn School of Medicine's industry-leading mDelta curriculum.

Learn more about UConn School of Medicine's Curriculum. 

Graduate Education

During the graduate phase, students pursue intensive thesis research in one of seven areas of concentration (AOC) in biomedical science and complete additional coursework required by their AOC. The Biomedical Science AOCs are:

The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine

The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) offers collaborative research training opportunities for our students in mammalian genetics and genomic medicine on our UConn Health campus. Our students have the option to complete lab rotations and perform their Ph.D. thesis research with a JAX faculty member at the Jackson Laboratory on our Farmington, CT campus at UConn Health, if the JAX faculty member has an appointment as a faculty member of the UConn Graduate School. Learn more on the Jackson Laboratory website.

Facilities

Students