MD-PhD – Combining Dr. med. and Dr. phil.
Students with a Master in Medicine can apply for combining Dr. med. and Dr. phil., a so called MD-PhD.
When interested in combining MD and the PhD, you need to choose your PhD subject (discuss with your first supervisor):
- From interfaculty regulations at the Graduate School Medical and Health Sciences listed here
- From the Faculty of Science listed here
Then, request matriculation for MD and PhD at the Student Administration Office of the University of Basel.
You may want to apply for the competitive Swiss National MD-PhD Fellowships Program. See further information on the SAMW website.
The Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Science award for a completed PhD study the grade of “Dr. med.” and “Dr. phil. in Medizin- und Gesundheitswissenschaften ” (MD PhD) in the following PhD subjects:
- Medicines Development
- Biomedical Engineering
- Epidemiology and Public Health
- Infection Biology
- Clinical Research
- Medical Ethics
- Nursing Science
- Sport Science
The thesis follows the rules of the Interfaculty Regulations (=Interfakultäre Promotionsordnung) and the MD is awarded with an additional first-author publication (original work with peer review). The first publication qualifies for the MD.
In addition to the PhD thesis, a further publication (first authorship, original work in peer-reviewed journals) qualifies for the MD. Details of this program are described here
Ausführungsbestimmungen MD-PhD (in German).
The Interfaculty PhD Board decides on the admission to the MD-PhD. All necessary documents have to be received by the board on the respective dates. See further information here.
The MD-PhD Program in Experimental Biomedical Research is a joint-program for students with a strong interest in Experimental Biomedical Research with a master in human medicine, veterinary medicine or dentistry from a Swiss University (or equivalent).
- Students enrolled in this PhD Program are subject to the prevailing PhD regulations of the Faculty of Science (http://philnat.unibas.ch/forschung/promotionphd/).
- Successful students enrolled in this program receive a PhD from the Faculty of Science. The MD title requires a separate submission (e.g. the body of work from the first year of the training).
Requirements and specifics for the MD-PhD Program in Experimental Biomedical Research:
- Students can provisionally be admitted into this inter-faculty MD-PhD program at the master-study level (3rd year) (Track I–preferred). Alternatively, students can be admitted after finishing medical school (max. 3 years post-graduation). A Selection Committee composed of members of the Science Faculty and Medical Faculty evaluates applications. Formal evaluation of provisionally admitted students is being carried out during the final year of medical school.
- Students aiming to perform an MD-PhD in Experimental Biomedical Research are required to gain experimental experience during medical school (>3 months of experimental work), ideally in the context of their Master Thesis. In addition, students applying for an (MD) PhD in Experimental Biomedical Research are required (in case of a non-experimental Master thesis) or strongly encouraged to visit a 'summer school' or an equivalent research-oriented program, and to actively participate in a research program during their 'Wahlstudienjahr'.
- Students that have passed the formal evaluation and have been admitted to the Basel University MD-PhD Program in Experimental Biomedical Research are required to adhere to the reporting system as outlined in the prevailing PhD regulations of the Faculty of Science.
Submissions (submitted as a single pdf-file and one hard copy) must be written in English and should be structured as follows:
Cover sheet – Contents – Motivation letter of the applicant, including career plan – Project summary (max. 1 page) – Detailed research plan (max. 6 pages, incl. tables and figures but without references, min. font size 11 and min. single line spacing) incl. current state of research, hypotheses, aims, relevance of proposed research, role of applicant in the project, methodology, planned experiments, milestones, pitfalls and timetable – CV of applicant with publications list (max. 2 pages) – MD-PhD training plan – Confirmation from thesis director guaranteeing support, access to infrastructure and funding for a 4th year if necessary to complete the MD-PhD – Reference letters (max. 2) – Copy of all examination scores and of relevant diplomas
Further information regarding the MD-PhD Program in Experimental Biomedical Research can be obtained from Prof. Christoph Hess, Head of the program at Basel University (chess(at)uhbs(dot)ch).
Deadline for submissions is Dec. 15th, evaluation of the candidates in January the following year.
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