Physician Scientist Program

Physician Scientist Program Overview

If you are interested in a career in academic medicine as a physician scientist, this program may be ideal for you. It will provide to tools necessary for obtaining fulfilling physician scientist jobs, enabling you to become a medical practitioner and faculty member at a university medical center where you will be able to teach medical and graduate students. As a physician scientist, you will be involved with innovative biomedical research. After completion of the program, you will receive both the M.D. and Ph.D. degrees.

Students who have been admitted to the M.D./Ph.D. program begin graduate studies during the summer session preceding their first year of admission into the medical school curriculum. During the summer session, major emphasis is placed on introduction to research with the goal of selecting an advisor and a research problem to be developed as the student's Ph.D. dissertation research.

Enrollment pattern after acceptance into the program:

	Year 1	Year 2
Summer	GSBS	GSBS
Fall	SOM	SOM
Spring	SOM	SOM

At the end of the second year curriculum in the School of Medicine, students in this program defer continuation in the medical school curriculum and devote full-time enrollment toward completion of requirements for the physician scientist degree. A "typical student" will require four years to complete these requirements depending on the nature of the research problem.

Current tuition costs can be seen at the links below or by contacting Student Business Services from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. CST at (806) 743-7867 for detailed fee information, including out-of-state tuition.

TTUHSC Student Business Services Main Page

TTUHSC Student Business Services Tuition Estimator

MD/PhD specific financial support can be found here.

Please view the Program Guidelines for more information.

Admission Statistics


512	3.62
Average MCAT of Students Offered Admission	Average GPA of Students Offered Admission

Application Information

Physician Scientist Program Deadlines

Semester	Application Open	Application Deadline	Campus
Fall Only	May	November 1	Lubbock

How to Apply

Currently students apply through the Texas Medical & Dental Schools Application Service; (TMDSAS - Follow for link) indicating their request to apply to the MD/PhD program. Applicants to the MD/PhD program must upload any reference letters through the TMDSAS application. Applications submitted after November 1 will not be considered.

Once you have completed the primary application please complete the required Secondary Application. Please note that you are only required to complete one Secondary Application. For example, applicants who apply to both the MD/PhD program and the MD program will only need to submit one Secondary Application.

After a student has applied to TMDSAS, and submitted the School of Medicine secondary application, the selection committees from both schools invite selected applicants for interviews. The MD/PhD interviews are coordinated through the School of Medicine's Admissions Office. The interview is tailored to match the interests of the applicant and will include one or more faculty members from the MD/PhD operating committee and the GSBS Senior Associate Dean. Additional details of the review process are described in the program guidelines below. Previous research experience, publications and motivation will be key features in the evaluation.

Applicants to the M.D./Ph.D. program must meet both School of Medicine and Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences admissions requirements, including the School of Medicine requirement to be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. More information regarding School of Medicine admission requirements is available on their website.

MD/PhD Program