An Integrated Approach to Graduate Education

The School of Biomedical Science provides several options for students interested in pursuing graduate level studies in the biomedical sciences. Both offer an integrated approach to learning that provides the highest quality training for tomorrow’s leaders in academic medicine and research.

The Integrated Biomedical Science Graduate Program (IBGP) was created to develop a broad understanding of the complex interactions of human biological systems to prepare students for successful careers in biomedical research. The program takes an interdisciplinary, integrated approach that transcends the traditional disciplinary boundaries and divisions characteristic of biomedical science education of the past. Joining more than 140 graduate faculty members from 19 departments, the curriculum is efficient and rigorous, designed specifically for IBGP students, and includes individual instruction that focuses on the student’s choice of an area of research emphasis. Incoming students are supported as Fellows or Graduate Research Associates for the first year of study, with research and/or training grants available in subsequent years.

The MD/PhD “Medical Scientist” Program (MSP) is a flexible dual degree program that integrates the clinical training available to medical students in the MD degree program with the research training of an advanced PhD degree program. Incorporating graduate courses from the Integrated Biomedical Science Graduate Program (IBGP) core curriculum and the Independent Study Program, the MD/PhD program provides a rigorous, in-depth scientific training program taught by some of the world’s most highly respected physicians and physician scientists. The MSP program offers both a traditional program that follows the pre-clinical schedule of the medical school and a unique Integrated Medical Scientist Program (IMSP), which synchronizes the learning resources of both the Independent Study Program and the IBGP program.