Benefits of tacking on a Masters before MD/PhD

[VitaminVater]

The last time this was asked was around 2002 so I felt like bringing it up again.

I'm currently applying to MD/PhD programs across the nation. I am still a senior in college and have been fortunate enough to have received many interviews from some of my top choices. Although it is foolish to assume so, I am pretty sure I will get in somewhere and matriculate next summer.

However, I have also been planning to apply to the Gates-Cambridge Scholarship to complete a 1-year masters. My main motivation for this was because there are some people in the University of Cambridge whom I would love to work with and I would enjoy the chance to live in the UK for a year. I also think it would help to experience a year of full time research so I am better prepared for my PhD when the time comes.

Yet, I want to hear from all of you on whether the extra year is worth it in adding to the already long MD/PhD. In which areas of my career might this Masters benefit me? Will it be on par with taking a year or two off to do full time research at an institution?
Any personal experiences?

Thank you.

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[solitude]

The last time this was asked was around 2002 so I felt like bringing it up again.

I'm currently applying to MD/PhD programs across the nation. I am still a senior in college and have been fortunate enough to have received many interviews from some of my top choices. Although it is foolish to assume so, I am pretty sure I will get in somewhere and matriculate next summer.

However, I have also been planning to apply to the Gates-Cambridge Scholarship to complete a 1-year masters. My main motivation for this was because there are some people in the University of Cambridge whom I would love to work with and I would enjoy the chance to live in the UK for a year. I also think it would help to experience a year of full time research so I am better prepared for my PhD when the time comes.

Yet, I want to hear from all of you on whether the extra year is worth it in adding to the already long MD/PhD. In which areas of my career might this Masters benefit me? Will it be on par with taking a year or two off to do full time research at an institution?
Any personal experiences?

Thank you.

I don't think it will have an appreciable effect on your career, as any research you do there will be almost a decade before you apply to residency and ~15y before you would be applying for NIH grants. If it could give you expertise unobtainable anywhere else, maybe it would make your PhD go a little faster, maybe. Anecdotally, I know plenty of people who came in with UK Masters who have taken 9 or 10 years on their PhD. Personally, I would only recommend doing it for your career if you got a Rhodes or Marshall, because they carry a lot more prestige that may actually help you in your career, OR because you think it would be fun, which is a perfectly valid reason.

 

[VitaminVater]

I don't think it will have an appreciable effect on your career, as any research you do there will be almost a decade before you apply to residency and ~15y before you would be applying for NIH grants. If it could give you expertise unobtainable anywhere else, maybe it would make your PhD go a little faster, maybe. Anecdotally, I know plenty of people who came in with UK Masters who have taken 9 or 10 years on their PhD. Personally, I would only recommend doing it for your career if you got a Rhodes or Marshall, because they carry a lot more prestige that may actually help you in your career, OR because you think it would be fun, which is a perfectly valid reason.

Thanks for the advice, unfortunately I'm not eligible for the Rhodes or Marshall :/

 

[bd4727]

You can convert this into a PhD then do medical school after your PhD (fully funded as MSTP) through the NIH-Oxford/Cambridge program. It has been done many times, PM me if you want.

 

[Erufaelonion]

For me, my two-year research-based Master's helped to waive 4 courses and allowed me to graduate with a PhD in 3.5 years. But you can argue that not doing the Master's would have saved two years of my life and that the PhD might have only taken another year.

The Master's definitely helped to get me in the MD-PhD program, though, since I also took medical school prerequisites during that time.

 

[sat0ri]

For me, my two-year research-based Master's helped to waive 4 courses and allowed me to graduate with a PhD in 3.5 years. But you can argue that not doing the Master's would have saved two years of my life and that the PhD might have only taken another year.

The Master's definitely helped to get me in the MD-PhD program, though, since I also took medical school prerequisites during that time.

Making up for something "missed" in undergrad is a common reason for taking on a masters, but do you think the benefit of a masters is by in large limited to that? That is, do you think helped you get in in any other regard, e.g., sharpened research focus, demonstrated conviction, LOR's, eetc?

 

[Erufaelonion]

Making up for something "missed" in undergrad is a common reason for taking on a masters, but do you think the benefit of a masters is by in large limited to that? That is, do you think helped you get in in any other regard, e.g., sharpened research focus, demonstrated conviction, LOR's, eetc?

Oh, yes, there are many other positives. You will be a little more mature. You are allowed more practice in thinking and working independently. You develop an appreciation for team work and skill in working as a group. Your letters of recommendation will be more genuine. When you do return to graduate school, you will not experience as great of a culture shock and can go straight to work (as in working the system). You get the opportunity to meet new people and make connections that may come in handy when it comes time for the PhD. And if you do the PhD at the same place as your Master's, even better: you should have an excellent research foundation. There are many other benefits, but I have to study for a SHELF.

The key thing to remember is that we live life for the experiences. My time during the Master's, and the people I interacted with, were very enjoyable. You might decide after the Master's that you do not need the MD/PhD to be happy. The quality of that life will be hard to beat and, the friends, you will have forever. And if ever I am in a dark place, those memories will bring me out of it.