MSTP Internal Admissions
MSTP 2015-2016 Application Information for Current MD Students
Deadline: Tuesday, January 19, 2016 by 5 pm
Current medical students are invited to submit applications for positions in the MSTP to begin Autumn Quarter 2016-17. The MSTP provides infrastructure and funding (for US Citizens and Permanent Residents only) for combined MD-PhD training in any area of biomedical or social science for which graduate training is available at Stanford. There are currently ~93 students in the MSTP, of which ~20% have joined the program after their first, second, or third year of medical school. Applicants are evaluated on their potential for a career in biomedical or social science investigation, based primarily on current and proposed research at Stanford in the laboratory of a prospective thesis advisor.
General guidelines
The internal program is intended for medical students who have engaged in an early and extensive research experience (usually as part of a scholarly concentration), and who have now decided to pursue a PhD as an extension of that work. Applicants must have identified a PhD program to which they are applying concurrently.
MD students interested in obtaining a PhD degree at Stanford are eligible to apply for MSTP funding during fall quarter of M2. PhD programs require a separate admissions process that includes a formal application, GREs, letters of recommendation, official transcripts, interviews, and participation in interview weekend activities. Applicants are strongly encouraged to meet with PhD Program Directors and Coordinators as early in the process as is feasible to obtain guidance on the application process for that PhD program.
Applicants are also strongly encouraged to meet regularly with MSTP Directors during the planning stages of their lab experience and in preparation for the application itself. Successful MSTP applicants will usually begin MSTP funding fall quarter following acceptance based on available funding. Successful applicants must meet with Program Directors or MSTP Staff to determine official start date of funding. MSTP funding is contingent on admission to a PhD Program and may only be used if participating in research full time (i.e., not board study, or clinical rotations).
Eligibility
Matriculated to Stanford MD no earlier than 2012.
In good standing at the Stanford School of Medicine.
Actively enrolled in courses at Stanford.
Must be applying to a Stanford PhD Program concurrently. (Only those accepted by a Stanford PhD program will be eligible for MSTP training and funding.)
Students who are not Stanford medical students or who have matriculated at another institution’s PhD program are not eligible for MSTP funding.
MSTP applications will be reviewed during Winter quarter of M2. Students later in their training (for example during their gap year(s) or later should meet with MSTP Directors as early as possible, and are encouraged to apply.
Previous application to the MSTP (either before or after matriculating at Stanford) does not influence eligibility or evaluation. We hope to make several MSTP offers to internal applicants each year. Advanced medical students already enrolled in a graduate program who have completed or will complete their thesis in 2017 are not eligible. Please contact us if you have any questions about admissions or eligibility.
Application materials
1) The application cover page, available here.
2) A brief personal statement (no more than 250 words) that describes your background and rationale for pursuing training as a physician-scientist. What factors and considerations have led you to this point in your career and why?
3) A research proposal of no more than 5000 words (not including references and optional figures/legends) organized as follows:
Title and Abstract: a summary of the entire proposal, 1-2 paragraphs and no more than 150 words.
Specific Aims: 1-2 pages describing the problems you plan to solve and the general approach, organized into several (usually no more than 4 or 5) specific aims; no more than 500 words.
Background and Significance: Usually 2-3 pages describing the system and problem you want to understand, including published knowledge that bears on your problem and the facts and hypotheses that led to your proposal; no more than 1500 words.
Research Design: The core of the proposal, where you describe the design of the research that you expect to do, including specific experiments, interpretation of possible results, and where you will go next. Organize this section around each specific aim, re-listing them to make it clear that the set of experiments being discussed corresponds to a particular specific aim. Usually 3-5 pages; no more than 2500 words.
The proposal should also include a specific description of what you have already accomplished; this can be included as a separate section (preliminary or initial results) or incorporated into the background and/or the research design section.
The general format of the proposal is similar (although slightly shorter in length) to qualifying exams required by many graduate programs, and you are encouraged to seek advice from your graduate colleagues and/or advisors. Like most graduate qualifying exams, the goal of the research proposal is not to describe materials and methods in detail, but instead to lay out the rationale and thought process in designing and interpreting both the work you have already done and the work you hope to accomplish.
If you have published an abstract or a paper as part of your research proposal, you may include that in an appendix.
4) Your application to the MSTP implies permission to review your original Stanford medical school application (AMCAS plus the Stanford supplementary application). Letters of recommendation submitted with your original medical school application are not required, nor available, for the internal MSTP application.
5) Two letters of support, one from your prospective thesis advisor, and one from another Stanford faculty member or scientist. Both letters should comment on your achievements and potential for a research-based career, and should be sent directly to Lorie Langdon in the MSTP office (email is fine).
Application Timing and Evaluation Process
Submit applications to Lorie Langdon. Applications are due Tuesday, January 19 by 5 pm. Please provide items 1-3 as a single PDF document.
Selected applicants will give oral presentation to a faculty panel. The length of the presentation will be 15-20 minutes, with questions from the panel following. The purpose is to explore in an informal and interactive setting the work described in your proposal.
Evaluation is based on the written application, letters of support, and the presentation, and is carried out concurrently with evaluation of "external" MSTP applicants. Decisions will be available after PhD admissions offers are made. If offered MSTP admission, student funding is based upon the standard MSTP student support structure that is determined by the applicant’s year of entry into the MD program.