Curricular Requirements

The MSTP curriculum at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai integrates the core requirements of both the MD and PhD programs, along with MSTP-specific activities designed to support the development of physician-scientist competencies.

MD Program Requirements

• Students follow either the Legacy Curriculum (for cohorts matriculated prior to 2024) or the ASCEND Curriculum (2024 onward), each with defined policies for academic standing, graduation, progression, remediation, and completion of licensing exams (USMLE Step 1 and Step 2). MSTP-specific modifications to the ASCEND progression and exam policies ensure alignment with dual-degree training timelines.

• Scholarly project, electives, and remediation policies are adapted to ensure integration with MSTP training requirements.

PhD Program Requirements

• Students must satisfy all graduate school academic requirements, including coursework, dissertation research, thesis proposal defense, and dissertation deposit. Progress is monitored through the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences standards for academic standing, satisfactory progress, and professionalism.

MD-PhD Program Requirements In addition to completing MD and PhD milestones, MSTP students must participate in program-specific training activities that foster research excellence, clinical readiness, leadership, and career development:

• MSTP TREK Academy (orientation and early professional development)

• MSTP Survival Skills and Leadership Colloquium (skills-building series)

• iBiology Build Your Research Community and MSTP Networking/TREKTracker (research community development)

• Biomedical Sciences (BMS) for MD-PhD (graduate coursework aligned with MD curriculum)

• MSTP Horizons (career planning and transitions support)

• Annual MD-PhD Retreat (community building and research presentations)

• Medical Scientist Grand Rounds (MSGR) (clinical-research integration seminars)

• MSTP Individual Development Plan (IDP) (annual career planning and mentoring reviews)

• Transition Activities (Transition from MD to PhD, Mentor-Mentee Compact, Transition from PhD to MD)

• Clinical Skills Maintenance (MD-PhD Clinical Refresher during PhD phase)

• MSTP Graduation Exit Survey (program feedback and outcomes tracking)

This integrated curriculum ensures that MSTP students are fully prepared for leadership roles in biomedical research and clinical medicine, while maintaining rigorous standards across both degree pathways.