Program Overview

Introduction to the MD/MPH Dual Degree Program

The MD/MPH dual degree program is a five-year program that offers students the opportunity to integrate medical training with public health from a global health perspective. This program is created in collaboration with the highly acclaimed NYU School of Medicine.

Program Overview

At the completion of this full-time program, students will have earned a Doctor of Medicine (MD) and a Master of Public Health (MPH), starting them off in a prime position for advanced career options in either field. The program allows students to augment their clinical medical training with public health skills, enabling them to understand the complexity of disease prevention, health promotion, and healthcare delivery in the globalized world.

Four-Year Course Sequence

The MD/MPH follows a specially designed curriculum that allows students to complete both degrees in four or five years of full-time study. Medical students accepted to the dual degree program will generally first fulfill their MD requirements in the first two or three years of the program, followed by a year of MPH degree coursework. The remaining 2 MPH courses of the Applied Practice Experience and Integrative Learning Experience Seminars are completed in evening classes during the final year of the MD program.

Coursework

MD/MPH students take 6 credits of MPH electives that replace the Foundations of Clinical Medicine course taken by students not in the dual degree program. The goal of the replaced course is to provide public health knowledge equivalent to at least 2-credits of public health instructional time, covering content such as medical genetics, biochemistry, molecular and cellular biology, histopathology, immunology, host defense, and its involvement in health and disease.

Year 1-2: MD Program Only

• Students focus on their medical degree requirements.

Year 3: MPH Program Only

• Fall 1 (14 credits)
  • GPH-GU 2106 Epidemiology (3)
  • GPH-GU 2030 Introduction to Global Health (2)
  • GPH-GU 2380 Data-Driven Decision-Making in Global Public Health (3)
  • GPH-GU 2140 Global Issues in Social and Behavioral Health (3)
  • Elective (3)
  • GPH-GU 5171 Global Health Informatics Workshop (0)
  • GPH-GU 5170 Introduction to Public Health (0)
• Spring 1 (16 credits)
  • GPH-GU 2995 Biostatistics for Public Health (3)
  • GPH-GU 2220 Applying Systems Thinking to Global Health Practice (3)
  • GPH-GU 2110 Health Care Policy (2)
  • GPH-GU 2112 Public Health Management & Leadership (2)
  • GPH-GU 2153 Global Environmental Health (3)
  • GPH-GU 2136 Fundamentals of Global Health and Development (3)

Year 4: MD and MPH Programs

• Fall 2 (5 credits)
  • GPH-GU 2359 Applied Practice Experience Seminar (2)
  • Elective (3)
• Spring 2 (5 credits)
  • GPH-GU 2360 Integrative Learning Experiences Seminar (2)
  • Elective (3)

Career Opportunities

Career options for MD/MPH students are wide-ranging and limited only by a student's own interests, backgrounds, and ambitions. Students might go on to such positions as commissioner of a health department, director/president of an NGO, senior executive at a healthcare institution, clinician in a developing country, or working with immigrant populations in the U.S. Students who pursue clinical medicine may continue to be involved in advocacy or policy development on local or global issues.

Application Process

Typically, this program is open to students who have already been accepted to, and matriculated in, the School of Medicine. Students generally apply to the program in their third year of medical school, with coursework leading to the MPH in Global Health beginning at the end of the third year. Students must apply separately and be admitted to both the MD and MPH programs.

Admission Requirements

Current medical students applying to the program must register their intent to apply with the Director of Dual MD/Masters Programs prior to the application deadline. Students applying to both the School of Medicine and the NYU MPH concurrently should alert the Medical School Admissions Office of their intent to do so.

Conclusion

The MD/MPH dual degree program offers a unique opportunity for students to combine medical training with public health education, preparing them for a wide range of career opportunities in global health. With its comprehensive curriculum and collaborative approach, this program sets students up for success in their future careers, whether in clinical medicine, public health practice, or health policy and advocacy.