Boston University Medical Campus
M.D./Ph.D. Combined Degree Program

Program Timeline

	Application Year	BUSM I	BUSM II	Grad I	Grad – Middle	Grad – Last	BUSM III	BUSM IV
August		-Orientation
September	Apply	-Fall Retreat	-Fall Retreat		-Fall Retreat	-Fall Retreat	-Fall Retreat	-Fall Retreat
October	Interviews
November
December
January			-Identify Labs -Register for Boards					-Submit PhD diploma to Admin
February		-Identify Labs for summer rotations	-Identify Labs			-Orientation and lottery for Clinical Rotations
March					-Register: Clinical Clerkship: 12, 20 or 40 sessions	-EOSYA Assessment Exam -Fill out Clerkship Transition Forms		-Match
April						-Distribute thesis for defense -Sign up for FAFSA
May			-Register for graduate school courses	-Qualifying Exams		-Defend Thesis -Request Clerkship Credit for Research
June	-Optional Research Rotations	-Summer Lab Rotations	-Take Boards
July	-Optional Research Rotations	-Summer Lab Rotations

 

 

MD PhD Time line for MD/PhD Advisor

 

Contacts:

Patty Kellogg pkellogg@bu.edu 8-5250 Administrative Assistant

Susan Wilcox wilcox@medsci.bumc.bu.edu 8-5122 Director, GMS

Benjamin Wolozin, bwolozin@bu.edu 4-2650 Advisor, MD-PhD program

 

Calendar

September:

Retreat: In Hiebert, 10 AM – 5PM

Students focused, faculty come for one session

Peer supervision

Bowling & Music after

• PhD Phase/Transition to Clinical: For January entrance communicate material from April item #3.
• Admissions: Friday 9 AM breakfast. Tell about BU program.
• PhD phase:
• • Organize presentations of faculty interested in students.
  • Organize peer communication about choosing labs (perhaps at Beer & Pizza meeting).

 

October:

Beer & Pizza Gatherings:

Peer communication about labs

Case Presentations

Research Presentations

• PhD Phase/Transition to Clinical: October 1 is the latest feasible start date for clinical rotations in the normal pathway.

 

December:

• PhD Phase/Transitioning students to Clinical: End of 2nd year clinical assessment exam (EOSYA)
• • EOSYA: Give names of returning students to Adrianne Rogers/Lorraine Stafford
  • Registrar: Give names of returning students to Ellen DiFiore (by end of January at the latest).

 

January: Transitions:

• Register for boards at beginning of January
• Clinical rotations start for alternate path entry
• Graduating students should submit the paper copy of their PhD diploma application to Patty Kellogg (forwarded to Millie Agosto) by the end of the month.

 

Feb: Transitioning students to Clinical: vote for elective rotations

There is a key meeting (end of February) about registering for clerkships and how the lottery proceeds.

 

March:

• Transitioning students to Clinical:
• • End of 2nd year clinical Assessment (EOSYA)
  • Determine who will be finishing PhDs

 

2. Med Phase: Match 3 rd week in March

 

April:

• New Students Commit: This finalizes in late summer
• • Help new students that want work in a lab during the summer

 

• 1st and 2ndyear students: Make sure they have rotations for the summer.
• • Email 1st years about rotations
  • Carl Franzblau gives good advice
  • Susan Wilcox has a list of faculty who presented to students during the year
• PhD Phase/Transitioning students to Clinical:
• • Alert students in last year of research to prepare for transition
  • • Clinical: MD/PhD advisor contacts med school registrar, Ellen Difiore, to send an email to transitioning students outlining necessary actions.
    • Clinical: Advise transitioning students on rotations: Recommend putting two 6 week rotations at beginning.
    • Basic: Distribute thesis 3 weeks before defense and allow time to revise (2-4 weeks)
    • Basic: Thesis defense – schedule early
    • Basic: Abstracts for defense can be turned in to office after thesis is given to readers
    • Clinical: Contact Milly to describe how scholarship money is to be split
    • Clinical: Contact Med office to sign up for FAFSA by April 18?
    • Clinical: Get on Med School list-serve
• Med-Graduation/Transitioning students:
• • Peer Supervision: Graduating students meet with younger students to discuss:
  • • Where they are going (which residencies)
    • Tips on interviewing and choosing electives
    • Future plans
    • Debt management

May:

• PhD phase/Transitioning students to Clinical: Defend by May
• PhD phase/Transitioning students to Clinical: Peer communication session at end of may. 3 rd/4 th students on clinical rotations meet with transitioning students to describe their experiences on the wards: advice for dealing with attendings, residents and staff, what the day is like in medicine (for instance) – pre-rounding, rounds, patient care, history and physical – advice & review, web resources (uptodate.com).
• Entering PhD phase: Register for graduate classes by May 1 (to insure that stipend comes; you can change the classes later).

 

July:

1. Monthly Monday Meetings: Attendance is low but you meet incoming students.

 

2. MD-PhD National Meeting is 2 nd weekend in July.

a. Make sure appropriate BU MD/PhD advisor(s) is on the national listserve.

b. Susan Wilcox can go to national meeting

3. Grad students/transitioning: Push students who will be finishing, to

prepare for taking clinical clerkships.

• PhD phase/Transitioning students:
• • Clinical: Clinical rotations start for regular entry
  • • October 1 is the latest feasible start date
  • Clinical: For Jan transition (alternate path) do Dec item 1

 

Aug:

1. Fall Retreat: Prepare for fall retreat by alerting faculty and working with Susan.
2. Orientation: Orientation for medical school occurs