MED-MD - Medicine (MD)
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Program Overview
Candidates for the Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree must satisfactorily complete the required curriculum in medicine. The requirements for the MD degree are detailed in the Stanford Bulletin and the MD Handbook.
Overview
The Discovery Curriculum enables students to complete their MD program at a more individualized pace, introducing a greater diversity of learning pathways available to students. Depending on their unique goals and pursuits at Stanford, students can complete the pre-clerkship curriculum at full pace in two years or at a slower pace in three years. During the first year, all students complete the same courses at the same pace. In autumn quarter of the second year, students can complete the remainder of their pre-clerkship curriculum at full pace or apply for the option of splitting the course workload over two years. Students approved for the three-year option have substantially more open time to pursue independent research, a dual degree, or other longitudinal scholarship and leadership activities. The course requirements, learning objectives, and assessments are identical for two-year and three-year pre-clerkship students. The three-year option is selective with the application process; most students are expected initially to opt for the traditional two-year pre-clerkship option.
Admissions Information
Minimum Units in the Program
Minimum University Units
Must be completed during the first year of study. Must commit to the course by autumn quarter Final Study List Deadline. Enroll in the spring, but must participate in the course in autumn, winter, and spring.
Complete six units/ four weeks of clerkships listed under this category. For clerkships available as a two-week rotation, students must pair it with another two-week rotation to receive full Selective I credit.
Complete six units/ four weeks of clerkships listed under this category. For clerkships available as a two-week rotation, students must pair it with another two-week rotation to receive full Selective II: Subinternship credit.
Students must choose one (1) area of study from a Foundation area listed below and complete 12 units of coursework:
Bioengineering
Biomedical Ethics and Medical Humanities
Informatics and Data-Driven Medicine
Clinical Research
Community Health
Health Services and Policy Research
Medical Education
Molecular Basis of Medicine
If desired, students can apply the skills developed in their foundation area to one of the application areas below. Up to 6 of the 12 units can come from one of the application areas:
Cancer Biology
Cardiovascular and Pulmonary
Global Health
Immunology
Neuroscience, Behavior, and Cognition
Prevention Research
Quality Improvement
Women’s Health and Sex Differences
Health Equity and Social Justice
The unit requirements for the Scholarly Concentration can also be achieved by completing a graduate degree at Stanford alongside the MD.
In addition to the unit requirement, students must also complete two (2) non-course requirements (including those pursuing the additional graduate degree option):
Written Report
Students must submit a written report of their scholarly work by June 1 of their graduating year.
Presentation
Students must present their research and scholarly work by June 1 of their graduating year.