Maybe things have changed lately, but every program I saw required you pay the first 2 years of med school then the rest of your education is paid off and you get a small stipend. I'd say almost all DO/PhD programs are close to worthless. MSU is the only program with some faculty and funding that is competitive in the research world. OSU's PhD in forensics is probably okay too because they are leaders in that field. All the other programs are either at weak institutions or won't give you access to renowned faculty and publications. In the research world, it matters where you went, who you worked for and what you published. The same is not true for DO degree after residency training.