Office of Medical Education

Program Overview

The MD-PhD curriculum at the University of Kentucky follows a traditional MSTP-style curriculum. Students usually graduate in 7 or 8 years; our average length of training is 7.3 years. Below is the typical time-line for training; in rare instances, individuals may tailor a different program.

Year 1 (MS1):

Students are encouraged to perform a research rotation in the summer before their first year of medicasl school. In addition, students are encouraged to enroll in the Medical Student Summer Research Program. For more information on this fellowship, please see Transitions.

Most students will matriculate into the first year of medical school (MS1). The medical school curriculum has a module block structure that provides an intensive, concentrated exposure in each content area. Blocks include Human Structure, Cellular Structure and Function, Neurosciences, and Human Function. During the summer after MS1, students perform their first (or second) research rotation.

Year 2 (MS2):

Courses in the second year of medical school (MS2) include Immunity, Infection and Disease, and Mechanisms of Disease and Treatment. Students take Step I of the USMLE board exam in May/June after MS2 and perform another research rotation in the summer, if they have not yet selected a dissertation laboratory. Students are expected to have identified a Department for their dissertation research by July after MS2 and their dissertation mentor by the end of the summer after MS2. A graduate school application has to be completed during the spring of the second year of MS2. Please note: it is recommended that this application be completed in early January of MS2. Refer to Transitions for more specific details on applying to The Graduate School.

* Students in the MD/PhD Program have the opportunity to defer taking Patients, Physicians, and Society and Introduction to Medical Profession until they are senior graduate students such that they complete these courses shortly before returning to the third year of medical school and have time in the afternoons of the first and second years of medical school for research

Years 3-6 (Graduate Years, or GYs):

The graduate school application has to be completed in the spring of the second year (MS2) in order for students to enroll in a graduate program in their third year. During the graduate years (GY1-4), students complete requirements as determined by their particular graduate department, including coursework, qualifying exams, and dissertation requirements. Students who select a graduate department in the College of Medicine can receive credit for successful completion of the first two years of medical school to satisfy the requirements of first year of the Integrated Biomedical Sciences Program curriculum. 

Year 6 or 7 (MS3):

Most students return to medical school in the summer or fall of MS3. The third-year curriculum provides the student with broad exposure to the major medical disciplines, including rotations in Clinical Neurosciences, Family and Community Medicine, Internal Medicine and Emergency Care, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatrics, and Surgery. All students successfully complete a multi-station clinical performance evaluation (CPX) before promotion to fourth year.

Year 7 or 8 (MS4):

During MS4, students complete two four-week acting internships, one in a medical discipline and one in a surgical discipline. In addition to Advanced Clinical Pharmacology and Anesthesiology and the Dean’s Colloquium, students complete 16 weeks of elective rotations at the University of Kentucky or another approved site. MD/PhD students are exempt from the M4 off-site/2nd AHEC requirements; these comprise one course.

Required Program Activities During All Years:

• Monthly MD/PhD Lunches with visiting scientist or invited faculty member
• Annual AOA and MD/PhD Research Day – includes attending the invited speaker seminar, presenting at the afternoon poster session, and attending dinner with the speaker
• Annual Program Retreat

Attendance at recruitment lunches and dinners and other social events during the year is requested but not required. 

Students are also encouraged to attend the monthly Dean’s Distinguished Lecture Series, which generally occurs the first Thursday of the month.