Program Requirements
Students interested in a research career in academic medicine may wish to apply for admission to the joint M.D.,C.M. & Ph.D. program. This is a seven-year program in which the basic and clinical sciences portion of the medical curriculum are completed from September of Year One to December 31 of Year Two, prior to the beginning of full-time graduate studies. The latter are expected to last three, but no more than four, years by which time all course work and the research requirements for the Ph.D. degree must have been completed and a thesis submitted. The defence of the thesis will ordinarily take place at a later date. From January of Year Five to May of Year Seven, students will complete the requirements for the M.D.,C.M. degree. Throughout the seven years, students in the M.D.,C.M. & Ph.D. program meet each Thursday evening during the academic year to discuss their research, hear research seminars from clinician-scientists, and network with other students in the program.
Once accepted to the M.D.,C.M. & Ph.D. program and during the first year of the combined program, students begin the process of choosing a supervisor and research laboratory for their Ph.D. studies. The McGill Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences Winter and Summer Research Bursary provide excellent opportunities for exploring potential laboratories. Research is usually carried out on a topic in the biomedical sciences within one of the Basic Science or Clinical Science Departments within the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. With the help of the M.D.,C.M. & Ph.D. Program Advisory Committee, students must choose a supervisor and department for their Ph.D. studies by September of Year Two and be accepted for admission to graduate studies by McGill Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.
The language of instruction is English.
For the full M.D.,C.M. curriculum, please refer to the Medicine section at www.mcgill.ca/study/faculties/medicine/undergraduate/programs/mdcm-–-doctor-medicine-and-master-surgery.
