Do you get a PhD or MD first?

[Hesham Aziz]

Hi,

In Egypt, students typically take a MD degree then pursue master degrees and PhD. I wonder if that's the same in USA. Should one take a PhD according to one's undergrad major or according to the MD specialty?

Thank you,
Mohamed

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[Ismet]

Vast majority of US med students do not get a PhD. There are combined MD/PhD programs that some students at some medical schools can pursue, and there are fewer students who pursue the PhD separately either before or after medical school.

 

[aldol16]

If you choose to do an MD/PhD program, you do your pre-clinical curriculum and then go do your PhD research (+courses if you need to take any) full-time for around 4 years. At the end of that time, you will write and defend your dissertation, which gives you the PhD. Then you finish out your clinical years and earn your MD.

There are people like me who do PhD and MD separately and already have PhDs going into medical school as a result of career change. There are people who decide to transfer into the PhD program during medical school during which they will follow a path very similar to the one outlined above. And there are yet more people who graduate with an MD and pursue a PhD afterwards, separately.

 

[Goro]

The format for MD/PhD in the US is MS1-> MS2-> 3 -5+ years of research for the phD portion -> MS3 -> MS4 -> both degrees awarded at graduation.

At the grad school I went to, the PhD portion for the MD/PhD's was a glorified MS. But I have friends who got their degrees at different schools and the PhD portion was identical to a regular PhD. If it took you six years for your research, then it took you six years.

Vast majority of US med students do not get a PhD. There are combined MD/PhD programs that some students at some medical schools can pursue, and there are fewer students who pursue the PhD separately either before or after medical school.

 

[zeppelinpage4]

Most get only an MD. A few of those MD students can also get a PhD combined with their MD training and get both degrees together at the same time.

The people who do PhD training, usually have no plans on getting an MD after. PhD is a research or teaching degree, not usually a clinical one.
Some people get a PhD planning to do research, then decide they want to pursue clinical medicine instead, and then go on to get an MD.