About the Medical Scientist Training Program
The University of Michigan Medical Scientist Training Program was established in 1979 to facilitate the combined M.D.-Ph.D. degree education of outstanding, dedicated students. The Program has 147 graduates and 87 participants in the 2009-2010 academic year.
The MSTP fellows must meet the rigorous requirements of the graduate and medical schools and of the Program itself. They also must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States. The modal time to complete the integrated curriculum is seven and one half years. Fellows receive full tuition, stipend support and health insurance. The current annual stipend is $25,500 for fellows in the first two years of medical school, $26,500 for fellows in the graduate phase, and $27,500 for fellows in the last two years of medical school.
The MSTP receives financial support from many sources including base funding from the University of Michigan Medical School. The largest single source is that provided through a training grant from the National Institutes of Health. All fellows are encouraged to apply for institutional or outside fellowship awards for which they may be eminently qualified and competitive.
The MSTP office provides assistance and academic support to the MSTP fellows. The MSTP Director is Ronald J. Koenig, M.D, Ph.D. and the Associate Directors are Juanita L. Merchant, M.D., Ph.D. and Theodora S. Ross, M.D., Ph.D. The MSTP office administration is led by Assistant Director Ellen Elkin with outstanding secretarial support by Administrative Assistant Laurie Koivupalo and financial management by Administrative Specialist Hilkka Ketola.
Guidance also is provided by several faculty advisory groups. Each fellow has a Research Rotation Advisory Committee that provides advice regarding the selection of summer research rotations, and a thesis committee that provides oversight and guidance during the Ph.D. dissertation research. The MSTP Career Advisory Panel provides input regarding post-graduation career planning. The Director and Associate Directors are advised by the MSTP Operating Committee, composed of approximately a dozen faculty and three MSTP fellows. The Operating Committee also serves as the Admissions Committee. The Program Activities Committee is a fellow-run committee that plans the Program events and activities including our seminar series and scientific retreat.
Inquiries are welcomed. The application deadline is October 15 for fellowships beginning the following August. The MSTP typically awards ten new fellowships each year.
