The M.D.-Ph.D. Program in the School of Medicine at OHSU is designed for students with interests in both biomedical research and clinical medicine. Our goal is to provide an environment in which students will obtain the breadth and depth of training needed to excel as both physicians and scientists. Upon completion of the program, which typically takes up to eight years, students will receive both the M.D. and Ph.D. degrees.

The M.D.-Ph.D. Program at OHSU is funded through an endowment from the The Medical Research Foundation of Oregon, an affiliate of the Oregon Health & Science University Foundation and by the NIH Medical Scientist Training Program. Each trainee receives full tuition support for all years of training and an annual stipend.

In the typical course of study students initially enroll in medical school for the first pre-clinical year, then pursue their graduate scientific training for the next four years, culminating in completion of a doctoral dissertation, and then finish medical school. The actual time needed to complete both the Ph.D. and M.D. degrees will vary among individual students. Flexibility exists within the curriculum, and students may elect to enter graduate school after the second year of medical school.

Research activities at OHSU have achieved an unprecedented expansion during the past decade, creating an exciting, cutting-edge scientific environment. The growth of programs has been stimulated by the construction of new, state of the art research facilities, which has allowed further recruitment of outstanding scientists. Reflecting this vigorous growth in research programs, scientific funding has expanded rapidly, exceeding $270 million in the year 2005.


OHSU is also renowned for its clinical training within the School of Medicine. The medical school curriculum focuses on integration of basic and clinical sciences in the pre-clinical years, emphasizes self-directed learning and patient contact early in the pre-clinical years, and includes transition courses at the completion of the second and third years of training.