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Transitions
The dramatic changes in training that M.D./Ph.D. students face can create difficult adjustment periods. We believe that a dedicated hub of resources to guide students' transitions will alleviate stress and strengthen our program. This web page has been designed to help M.D./Ph.D. students navigate the transitions from medical school to graduate school and back more effectively. Please click on any of the topics below for more information.
Second-year medical student becoming first-year graduate student
Final-year graduate student becoming third-year medical student
Graduate student becoming first-year medical student
Generally useful resources
Second-year medical student becoming first-year graduate student (M2 to G1)
Research Rotations and Choosing a Laboratory
The M.D./Ph.D. Program is currently considering standardizing required research rotations for students during the first two years of medical school. Until that time, these rotations are individually-initiated. It is highly recommended by the program's directors that students try to do three laboratory rotations before the beginning of their graduate studies. A strategy that is often used involves rotating during the three summer breaks that bookend and divide the first two years of medical school; however, other approaches are possible. Individuals should contact the program director(s) to discuss their strategy as early as possible to ensure adequate exposure to well-qualified labs that match their interests. To initiate a laboratory rotation, contact the laboratory to express an interest and inquire about space, timing, funding potential and desire for rotating M.D./Ph.D. students. This can be done most easily using e-mail or telephone.
Following these rotations, the student must choose a lab to join as a full-time graduate student. Talking to both the student and faculty members of the M.D./Ph.D. Program can help you formulate strategies to make your decision. In general, it is particularly important to consider the mentoring relationship that you expect to have with your thesis advisor and make sure that it suits you. To complete one's selection of a laboratory, simply inform the M.D./Ph.D. Program director and the principal investigator of the laboratory. When all sides agree that this is in the best interest of the student and laboratory, you should then inform the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) of the basic science program you plan to join. For additional tips on navigating your way through Graduate School, please visit the Graduate Student Survival Guide.
Academic Leave of Absence from the College of Medicine
During the spring semester of your 2nd year in medical school, you will need to inform the UKCOM Student Progress and Promotions Committee (SPPC) that you will be leaving medical school to begin pursuing your Ph.D. This is done by requesting an academic leave of absence in a letter to the SPPC that can be mailed to the Senior Assistant Dean of Student Affairs. A form letter may be available from the office of the M.D./Ph.D. Program's program coordinator, Sue Quinlivan, at (859) 323-6744, or you may contact the Senior Assistant Dean of Student Affairs, Todd Cheever, M.D., at (859) 323-5261. The SPPC must be updated each spring that you are not enrolled in the College of Medicine and informed of your plans for the upcoming year.
Acceptance to the Graduate School
Students accepted into the M.D./Ph.D. Program are, in most cases, guaranteed acceptance into the Graduate School into one of the nine participating basic science departments/centers. By July 1 of the summer before you plan to start as a graduate student, students should apply to the Graduate School. Graduate School has requested that you complete an online application and notify the M.D./Ph.D. Program Office once you have submitted your online application so that they can help coordinate the application process.
It is important to mark M.D./Ph.D. under the Special Program section on the Graduate School application so that your application is properly directed. Additional requirements include the following:
GRE scores: Student members of the M.D./Ph.D. Program are no longer required to take the GRE nor do they have to provide a score report if they have taken it. Contact the M.D./Ph.D. Program Coordinator if you encounter a problem.
MCAT scores and medical school transcripts: MCAT scores should be forwarded from the UK Medical School Registrar, Beth Hartmann.
Application Fee: There is a required Graduate School application fee before your application will be processed.
Program Applications: Secondary program applications may be waived or required depending on the program/department that you are joining. Contact your Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) for details.
Undergraduate and medical school transcripts: These are typically available by contacting the appropriate registrar's office, sometimes for a fee. Some institutions even allow online requests for transcripts. For your medical school transcripts, a transcript request form can be found on the Student Affairs web site. For more information about obtaining transcripts for your first two years in medical school, contact the College of Medicine Registrar, Beth Hartmann, at (859) 323-2456. You should have all your transcripts mailed directly to the Graduate School:
The Graduate School
201A Gillis Building
University of Kentucky
Lexington, KY 40506-0027
The Graduate School has designated Ms. Vivian Bowling as the Admission Officer for the M.D./Ph.D. Program. Her phone number is 257-4619 and her e-mail address is Vivian.Bowling@uky.edu. Her office is room 201A in the Gillis Building. For directions to the Gillis Building, please visit the Campus Map Web page (#33 on the Campus Map).
Determining Your Curriculum and Registering for Classes
The Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) for your basic science program or center will be able to help you determine which courses you will need to take. Most programs have curriculum guidelines for their graduate students. However, depending on your department, some of the courses may be waived because you have already completed a course or its equivalent during the first two years of medical school. Additional courses that you need specifically for your research or those that interest you may be taken with approval from your thesis advisor and/or advisory committee. You should approach your DGS and possibly your advisor to discuss your classes before the beginning of the fall semester because there is a narrow priority window for registration.
Unlike your experience in medical school where the curriculum proceeds more or less automatically, graduate classes give you more flexibility but also much more responsibility to actively register for your classes, often many months in advance. You can register for classes over the phone using the UK-VIP system (859-257-7000 off campus, or 7-7000 on campus) or online using Web UK. Full instructions for UK-VIP as well as Priority Registration Windows (dates and times that you are supposed to register depending on your student status and hours) are documented each semester at the beginning of the Schedule of Classes booklet. Much of this information is also available online at the University Registrar's Office web page. You can obtain your own Schedule of Classes booklet from the secretary of your department/program or your DGS, or by visiting the University Registrar's office on main campus in the Funkhauser Building (#54 on Campus Map).
Establishing a Research Project (Thesis Outline)
Each basic science program will have guidelines for its students, most likely including the creation of a thesis advisory committee. This committee will guide and challenge you to become an independent scientist by completing multiple projects that ultimately will be presented to them as your thesis — your scientific story of discovery. You are often required to coordinate committee meetings to update them on your progress. Early in your graduate student career and definitely before your first committee meeting, you should sit down with your advisor to discuss your research project(s). Based on your interests and the needs and capabilities of the laboratory, you and your advisor will begin to develop a clear and practical vision for the two to three specific aims that you will likely be able to complete in three to four years. These will be the pillars of your thesis outline and can serve as the basis for most of your meetings with your advisory committee as you update them on your progress. For additional tips on navigating your way through Graduate School, please visit the Graduate Student Survival Guide.
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Final Year Graduate Student Becoming Third-Year Medical Student (G3+ to M3)
Student Progress and Promotions Committee (College of Medicine) Update
Each spring, M.D./Ph.D. students conducting research must update the SPPC on their plans for the upcoming year. During your final year as a graduate student, this update should indicate that you are planning to return to medical school to begin your clinical rotations. Approximate dates for your thesis defense, if known, and any information concerning ways that you have been preparing to re-enter medical school may be included in this update. The senior assistant dean for Student Affairs, Todd Cheever, M.D., is the proper person to contact.
Dissertation Timing and Instructions
Your advisor and advisory committee will be able to help you craft your thesis in terms of content and presentation; however, the timing to complete your experiments, entering and completing your writing phase, and defending your dissertation is something you will want to think about and discuss with your advisor and committee at least six months to a year before you plan to transition to medical school. Of course, the simplest plan is to completely finish your Ph.D. work prior to beginning your clinical training, and this may be the approach you should take. Nonetheless, it is not always possible to accurately predict the final stages of a Ph.D., but as your writing progresses, you should be able to approximate finishing dates. If it appears that you will need to work concomitantly on your thesis after starting clinical training, you should discuss this with both the M.D./Ph.D. Program director(s) and the senior assistant dean of Student Affairs, Todd Cheever, M.D., to devise an individualized plan.
There is some flexibility in dates for beginning medical school and entering the third year. Graduate students nearing completion of their Ph.D. and about to begin medical school as first-year students may find it possible to continue their dissertation work while also engaged in basic science/pre-clinical coursework. It should be noted, however, that most students, regardless of previous experiences, are not fully prepared for the volumes of material that they must master in short periods of time. This can be a difficult adjustment for those without additional obligations much less the student trying to also finish and defend a dissertation. Graduate students who are less than halfway finished with their Ph.D. should consider taking an academic leave of absence after the second year of medical school to complete their dissertation work like traditional M.D./Ph.D. students.
Third-year flexibility options may be advantageous for dissertation completion but may restrict your clinical rotation experiences. This is important because your third-year experiences prepare you for USMLE Step 2, offer insight to schedule your fourth-year rotations, and may influence your decisions as you begin the residency application process. Be sure you discuss any drawbacks of simultaneous intensive medical and graduate studies as well as delayed entry into the third year with the senior assistant dean of Student Affairs, Todd Cheever, M.D., and the M.D./Ph.D. Program director(s) before you make your decision.
Full instructions for Writing and Defending a Dissertation are available online. Briefly, in order to schedule your defense, you will need to submit a Notification of Intent to Schedule a Final Doctoral Examination form (PDF) eight weeks before the date you would like to defend. After an outside reviewer has been arranged by the Graduate School, you can file a Request for Final Doctoral Examination (PDF). The defense date must be at least eight days before the end of the semester in which you are planning to graduate. After your defense, you have 60 days to submit your final dissertation to the Graduate School. There are many other requirements including forms and fees that you should read about online.
Note: These files require the Adobe Acrobat Reader that can be downloaded free from Adobe.
Clinical Preparation Before Third Year
Graduate students returning to medical school are often anxious about their clinical skills and knowledge base. Fortunately, students who have made the transition do not frequently report significant difficulties or disadvantages compared to their new third year classmates. Furthermore, there are both administration-coordinated and individually-initiated opportunities to reconnect with medical studies while in graduate school. The senior assistant dean of Student Affairs, Todd Cheever, M.D., can help you coordinate with the director of second-year Introduction to the Medical Profession (IMP) to audit all or some of the class during your last year as a graduate student. The Dean may also help you identify willing clinical mentors for one-on-one training. If you have built personal relationships with medical professionals during the first two years of medical school or beyond, you may be able to use these people as resources as well. On your own, you can challenge yourself with USMLE Step 1 review books or course materials. Furthermore, board-like questions are available online through WebPath provided by the University of Utah Health Sciences Center and the Florida State University College of Medicine. Other clinical preparation strategies are possible, and you can discuss your own ideas with both the senior assistant dean of Student Affairs, Todd Cheever, M.D., and the M.D./Ph.D. Program directors.
Choosing a Clinical Rotation Schedule
Transitioning students often feel that choosing the right clinical rotation schedule can make reintegrating into the medical lifestyle much easier. Like any student, the choice of schedule is often a personal one based on their perceptions of rotation difficulty and timing with respect to beginning third year and preparing for USMLE Step 2. Some students find that they want to have experience seeing patients on a particular rotation before they schedule their fourth year rotations. One strategy to consider is scheduling a Primary Care Area Health Education Center (AHEC) experience as the first clinical rotation of third year, allowing you to work one-on-one with a community physician to refresh your history and physical examination skills and reconsider a breadth of medical topics. As the nature of offsite rotations for M.D./Ph.D. students may change in the future to allow for research-related pursuits, this option may disappear or become less desirable.
You can view the Schedule of Rotation Groups by visiting the Third-year page on the Student Affairs web site.
You will have to officially commit to a rotation schedule during the Spring semester before your return to medical school. You will join in the second-year class meeting about third-year scheduling just before you submit your rotation group preferences. Contact the senior assistant dean of Student Affairs, Todd Cheever, M.D., to determine the exact date(s).
Planning Your Offsite Rotation Experiences
The current AHEC requirements for M.D./Ph.D. students remain unchanged. You must plan your two AHEC experiences just like all the other students in the third-year medical school class that you will be joining. You can do two AHEC rotations during your third year or one in the third year and one in the fourth year. More details will be available in the meeting about making your third-year schedule.
Financial Adjustments
As a graduate student, your annual stipend support has been approximately $21,000 which may not have been taxed depending on its source. Re-entering medical school, regardless of scholarship status, your financial aid (combined scholarship and loan) eligibility will only be about $14,000 per year. You need to be aware of this drastic change in income and budget your expenses accordingly. For those making car payments, there is a $3,000 car loan program for which you may qualify. Car loan money is handled like other non-subsidized student loan money in terms of interest rate and repayment schedule. Additional loans for economic hardship may be available. Contact the Financial Aid Office (859-323-5261) for more details. You can read about the loan programs under Financial Aid Web site.
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Graduate Student Becoming First Year Medical Student G1+ to M1)
Expressing Interest in joining The M.D./Ph.D. Program
If you are a graduate student interested in clinical or translational research, you might seriously consider pursuing a combined M.D./Ph.D. degree. Depending on how near you are to completing your Ph.D. work, you may apply to the program or to regular College of Medicine admissions. Both graduate students near the beginnings and ends of their research projects have joined the UK M.D./Ph.D. Program. If you are interested, please contact the M.D./Ph.D. Program director(s) to discuss it further. By doing so, you can explore whether the program is right for you, learn more about the challenges and rewards of becoming an M.D./Ph.D., and even be put in contact with current students.
Scholarship Eligibility
Competitive scholarships are typically reserved for those students who will be completing a significant portion of their research following acceptance to the UK College of Medicine. Many graduate students who were nearly or completely finished with their Ph.D. work but maintained strong interests in clinical or translational research careers have opted to join the program without scholarship support to benefit from the experiences and unique community of students and faculty. Graduate students who have gained acceptance to the UK College of Medicine with a significant portion of their research project remaining may leave their graduate program to begin medical school and resume their research following the second year and may be eligible for scholarship support.
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Generally Useful Resources
Campus Directory
University of Kentucky College of Medicine
The Graduate School at UK
College of Medicine Office of Medical Education Student Affairs Office
Graduate School Directors of Graduate Studies
UK Student Research Opportunities
Graduate Student Survival Guide
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