Post-MPH Planning: Is a Dual Degree Right for You?

By Jazib Gohar, MPH (EPI, 2020)

A dual degree MD/DO-PhD program isn’t the first path one might immediately think of after graduating with your MPH. However, if you’re passionate about a career where you get to practice medicine AND conduct research, then a dual degree program might be for you!

The Dual Degree Program

An MD/DO-PhD program is a joint degree program where you are trained in medicine and research, formally earning both your medical degree and your PhD. Dual degree programs, on average, take about 8 years to complete, though the length can vary depending on your field of research and your research project. There are currently 129 MD-PhD and 6 DO-PhD programs that currently exist in the United States. Annually, these programs accept anywhere between 1 and 10 students a year, making the process competitive due to the limited number of spots. The application process requires a bit of extra work and can vary depending on whether you are applying to MD-PhD and/or DO-PhD programs.

While MD/DO-PhD programs require a lot more time than either degree alone, have a more intensive application process, and are highly selective, there are fantastic benefits that are appealing for applicants. For those who are incredibly passionate about both practicing medicine and researching, you have the unique opportunity to pursue both career paths in a single program. Additionally, most, if not all, MD/DO-PhD programs offer some level of funding, often paying for the entirety of your schooling AND providing you with a stipend. Finally, these dual degree programs offer you the unique experience to bridge the gap between research and medicine, allowing you to take your work from bench to bedside.

Why I Chose a Dual Degree Program

I am currently a 1^st year DO-PhD student at Michigan State University, pursuing my PhD in Epidemiology. MSU follows a unique 1-2-3-2 format, where your first year is within your PhD program, the following 2 years is dedicated to your pre-clinical medical coursework, the 3 years after are focused towards finishing the rest of your PhD program while doing clinical rotations one day a week, and the final 2 years conclude with the remainder of your clinical rotations. I chose MSU because they offered a dual degree program in epidemiology (not all schools do!), it was close to home (I’m from Skokie, Illinois), and the 1-2-3-1 format really appealed to me. This last point was important, because MSU does a great job integrating the medical and the research sides of a physician-scientist career by implementing this alternating-years format, as opposed to the 2-4-2 format where the entire PhD is sandwiched between your pre-clinical and your clinical years.

 I went from arriving at Rollins in 2018 not even knowing what epidemiology really was, to falling in love with the field and the limitless opportunities one can pursue within it. While I knew my whole life that I’ve always wanted to pursue medicine, it wasn’t until I started my research with Dr. Lauren McCullough when I realized how much I enjoyed epidemiological research. During the summer between my 1^st and 2^nd year at Rollins, I decided to primarily apply to dual degree programs, knowing that I would be happiest pursuing a career that allowed me to balance a medical and a research career. My goal was to meld the worlds of epidemiological research and medical practice into a single career, being able to analyze population-level issues while working with patients at an individual level. With my research interests being rooted in neighborhood-level disparities and epigenetic mechanisms, and my medical interests focused on serving underserved populations, I knew that a dual degree program would be the perfect intersection for my interests.

I cannot overstate how useful and practical my MPH and my experiences at Rollins has been during my DO-PhD program. I was able to gain equivalency credits for nearly half of my courses at MSU because I had already taken them at Rollins, which shortens the total length of my program. Further, having a strong epidemiological background from my time at Rollins has prepared me in being able to code fluently in both SAS and R, engage in meaningful and thoughtful conversations in my courses, and most importantly has allowed me to get started on research as well. All of my training at Rollins gave me the foundation and the bandwidth to take more courses per semester and to engage in multiple research projects, including my dissertation research. I don’t think I would be where I am today if it wasn’t for my experiences at Rollins, which is a pretty awesome indication of how powerful a Rollins education is!

My Advice to You

First and foremost, I think the biggest piece of advice I can offer is to think long and hard about your desire to pursue a dual degree program before applying. Talk to people you may know who are currently in these programs, talk to people who have completed this program, and talk to your family as well. 8 years is a lot of your life to commit to a rigorous program, and you don’t want to realize a few years in that this may not be for you.

Understand what the life of a physician-scientist may look like after your schooling is complete. A majority of graduates pursue a career in academia, often researching 4 days a week and seeing patients 1 day a week. If you like both research and medical practice but you don’t think you want to commit that much time to research, or that little time to medicine, then maybe just a medical degree would make you happier (remember you can still do research in some capacity as a medical student!).

That all being said, I personally believe epidemiology is a unique field where you may be able to strike a more perfect balance between research and medical practice. The convenience (and beauty) of epidemiological research is that it can be done on our computers wherever we are in the world, compared to basic science fields that may require a lot more hands-on bench research that require you to be in the lab to progress your research. Further, having your MPH beforehand may also shorten your program and reduce your coursework, depending on your institution.

There are many pros and cons for pursuing a joint MD/DO-PhD program but if you know that this is the route for you, then go chase that dream!

Jazib Gohar, MPH (EPI 2020) is currently a first year DO-PhD student at Michigan State University. During his time at Rollins, Jazib was also a member of the Department of Epidemiology’s social media team.