Our Students

The MD-PhD program at Columbia has a very diverse student body who are interested in basic research and medicine. Over 60% of our graduates who have completed their residency and fellowship training are full-time faculty members in basic science and clinical departments world-wide. We admit about 13-16 students, and they study topics as varied as epidemiology, neurobiology, cancer biology, and immunology. Our students represent 28 different US states, as well as a small number of foreign countries. They also come from 48 different US undergraduate schools. About half of the students who are currently enrolled in the MD-PhD program have taken some time off after their undergraduate education to pursue basic research. For those students, the average time between graduating from undergraduate school and enrolling in the MD-PhD program is about two years. Most students complete the PhD within the Integrated Program in Cellular, Molecular and Biomedical Studies (CMBS) or the Doctoral Program in Neurobiology and Behavior. A smaller number of students also pursue their doctoral research in other graduate programs including, but not limited to, Biomedical Engineering, Chemistry, Biological Sciences, Pathobiology and Molecular Medicine, and Epidemiology. We are seeking students with a very strong research background who wish to practice medicine while primarily carrying out significant basic research in their field of study.