M.D.-Ph.D. Program with the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
The Program in Neural Computation participates in a combined M.D.-Ph.D. Program with the Medical Scientist Training Program, to offer an M.D. degree from the University of Pittsburgh and Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University. The aim is to allow physicians to blend computational research and clinical perspectives in treating patients.
Prospective students should apply directly to the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, indicating an interest in the Ph.D. Program in Systems Neuroscience at Carnegie Mellon University. During the first semester of the second year of medical school, the student should submit an application to the Ph.D. program, which may include supporting documents previously submitted to the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
Students formally enter the Ph.D. program after completing their second year of medical school, although research may start as soon as the summer before the first semester of medical school and during the subsequent two summer semesters. This allows the student to gain a total of six months of research before officially entering the Ph.D. program. As such the student will enter the PSN program as a 2nd year Ph.D. student and the course requirements for experimental neuroscience will be waived. Completion of the Ph.D. program is targeted at 3-4 years. The student then returns to the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine to completes the last two years of M.D. training.