mstp vs md/do/phd

[Direct Laryngoscopy]

What exactly is the difference between MTSP and md/phd. I thought the term was interchangeable? Aren't both financed by the NIH? I'm not applying that route but was interested.

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[xanthines]

I believe your question is adequately addressed in the FAQ's. However, I believe all MSTP's are md/phd programs but not vice versa. Kind of like rectangles and squares...

-X

What exactly is the difference between MTSP and md/phd. I thought the term was interchangeable? Aren't both financed by the NIH? I'm not applying that route but was interested.

 

[dave613]

What exactly is the difference between MTSP and md/phd. I thought the term was interchangeable? Aren't both financed by the NIH? I'm not applying that route but was interested.

MSTP and md/phd are interchangeable. Both are not financed by the NIH. Only the mstp is financed by nih.

 

[Gfunk6]

It has a little bit more to do than simple financing. MSTPs are screened by the NIH and have certain high standards to meet including graduating students in a timely fashion, minimizing the dropout rate, and producing students that actually go into academic medicine.

Another important distinction is that MSTPs are prevented by law from requiring payback if you drop-out. Other MD/PhD programs will not provide this benefit. Also not all MD/PhD programs are fully funded whereas all MSTPs are.

 

[SaltySqueegee]

$$$ and Flexibility. Both being better with the MSTP programs... usually...

 

[TicDouloureux]

Just to make things a little more complicated...

Also not all MD/PhD programs are fully funded whereas all MSTPs are.

Which doesn't mean that all non-MSTP programs are not fully funded. For example, when I first started at my program, it was non-MSTP (in the process of applying), but all spots were fully-funded by the med school with tuition remission, health insurance, the whole 9 yards. Now we have MSTP funding, and as far as my day-to-day life as an MD/PhD/MSTP student goes, absolutely nothing has changed. It's just that the money comes from a different source. The main thing is that we get more applicants now that we've got the MSTP seal of approval.

And I don't know if this is true or not, but I have heard that at some MSTP programs, not all spots are fully funded. As in the NIH funds maybe 4 MSTP spots at a particular program, but the program takes 6 students, so the other 2 get less funding. I know that at our program, we take more students than there are MSTP spots, but our med school pays for the rest, so it doesn't matter who is or isn't on the training grant, because they are treated and paid the same.

 

[BDavis]

And I don't know if this is true or not, but I have heard that at some MSTP programs, not all spots are fully funded. As in the NIH funds maybe 4 MSTP spots at a particular program, but the program takes 6 students, so the other 2 get less funding. I know that at our program, we take more students than there are MSTP spots, but our med school pays for the rest, so it doesn't matter who is or isn't on the training grant, because they are treated and paid the same.

Our school is set up as you describe. There is a general pool of money into which the NIH funds a certain amount of positions. In addition to the NIH spots, there are private funding sources that also fund more spots. It is hard to figure out who is funded from where, but we all get the same benefits in terms of health insurance and stipends. Supposedly, the number of NIH funded spots is fixed for all the programs as a whole so many schools have private funding to supplement the incoming class. Furthermore, people seem to be arbitrarily assigned to NIH spots or private funding (i.e. the most competitive candidates are not always given the NIH spots).