Bioengineering, MD/PhD

MD/PhD Requirements

The MD/PhD program supports well-integrated basic and clinical science pre-doctoral training program.  The training program links many PhD programs in six graduate schools within the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University.  It is important to keep in mind that MD/PhD students are working toward TWO degrees, not just “two for the price of one”.  However, it is recognized that some relaxation of the requirements is appropriate for these students.  Traditionally, we have waived the life science (6 credits) requirements, as medical school education covers these topics. MD/PhD students cannot use their MD courses to opt out of the advanced engineering/math/statistics course requirements for the PhD.

The course requirements for the MD/PhD in Bioengineering closely follow the PhD requirements in Bioengineering with a few exceptions:

• Track Courses (from a list of approved courses for specific tracks)  - 9 credits*
• Graduate Electives (can be most graduate level courses per approval of Graduate Coordinator) - 6 credits*
• Graduate Engineering Mathematics (from a list of approved Math courses)  - 3 credits
• Statistics for Bioengineers (from a list of approved Statistics courses)  - 3 credits
• Seminar - 6 credits total, 4 credits must be the Bioengineering Seminar, which is BIOENG 2023  or BIOENG 2024  . One of the four seminars can be substituted with a Preparation for STEM academic career course, when combined with appropriate certification. The other 2 credits may be from BIOENG 2023, BIOENG 2024 or any other seminars deemed appropriate by the Graduate Program Director. Please see list of Approved Seminar Courses  for suggestions.
• Grant Writing in Bioengineering, BIOENG 2900  - 1 credit
• Doctoral Dissertation Research, BIOENG 3997  and BIOENG 3999  -18 credits minimum, of which 12 credits of 3999 to be taken after the proposal; generally, students take 35 or more research credits

* The standard policy is 9 credits of track courses and 6 credits of electives. There is an exception for the Bioimaging and Signals track, for which the requirement is 12 credit of track courses and 3 credits of electives.

Total number of credit hours: 72 credits minimum, which includes 6 credits to fulfill the life science requirements but does not include credits from foundational courses if applicable.

The department does not enforce the 3-credit ethics requirements for MD/PhD students if they have acquired this knowledge through their medical school education. Students may acquire these three credits through another course (didactic or graduate project).

Of the 35 credits allocated for research, students must register for a minimum of 18 research credits, of which at least 12 credits must be from BIOENG 3999 , an option that is available only after advancing to candidacy; the remaining 6 credits are generally used for BIOENG 3997 . The remaining 17 (or more) credits may be applied toward research classes (3997, 3999) or, with approval from research advisor and graduate program director, other didactic courses relevant for the student’s professional objectives.

MD/PhD students are also required to complete two teaching practicums before presenting their PhD proposal (comprehensive examination). No more than one practicum can be undertaken in a semester. There is no course registration for this educational experience, and fulfillment is monitored by the department.

Please see Department of Bioengineering’s PhD Requirements  page for more details.