The MD-PhD Program

The Yale University School of Medicine emphasizes the tradition that encourages its medical students to engage in significant research and prepare, defend and publish a thesis in order to graduate, a feature unique to our School. Medical students are selected and matriculated based on their experience and interest in research or some form of scholarly pursuit..

This philosophy of the “Yale System,” which has been in existence since 1934, regards medical students as graduate students who plan their own individualized programs of study. Because of this rich tradition of individualized study and the thesis requirement, the atmosphere at the Medical School is highly compatible with the aspirations of the M.D.-Ph.D. Program which is a keystone of the “Yale System."