I chose the MD/MPH program because of the passion and the people... You'll get to meet so many faculty and peers who are making a real impact on the surrounding Chicago community, and even the global community. If you're interested in learning an empirical approach to health promotion and gaining exposure to another side of medicine, the MD/MPH is for you!
MD/MPH
I chose to pursue the MD/MPH because while I had exposure to the general concepts surrounding public health and healthcare access, I wanted more formal training in subjects that I consider necessary for everyone in healthcare to have exposure to and understand.
The program allows me to spend my M1 summer working on a public health project of interest to me through a collaboration with Northwestern’s Havey Institute of Global Health. This opportunity will provide me with hands-on experience assessing a health intervention’s efficacy, which will help me become a more effective health advocate in my future career as a physician.
I chose to pursue an MD/MPH at FSM because I knew the program would allow me to start my public health studies right away at a comfortable pace... I appreciate the camaraderie that I’ve gotten interacting with my MD/MPH peers formally and informally. It’s inspiring to hear why each of us chose this path.
Overview
Our accredited doctor of medicine and master's of public health (MD/MPH) program attracts passionate, curious students interested in advancing high quality, equitable health by working at the interface of public health and medicine. Graduates from the program are prepared to lead advances in health and health equity through discovery and implementation of leading-edge clinical care, research, health policy, and health communication.
Our MD/MPH Program is structured to meet the needs of our students:
- Evening MPH classes: Students complete their MD curriculum during the day and MPH classes in the evenings, one or more days per week.
- Four-year completion: Our program is designed for students who wish to complete the MD and MPH degrees within four years, making them highly competitive for research opportunities and residency programs.
- MD/MPH cohort: You will be supported and challenged by your cohort of same-year MD/MPH students.
Curriculum
In addition to MD coursework that counts towards some MPH credits, the integrated, interdisciplinary MPH program has core coursework, elective, and professional experience components.
- Core coursework: Foundational public health coursework includes biostatistics, epidemiology, advanced research methods, behavioral health, health equity, and health communication. A specialized MD/MPH core course explores the synergistic opportunities of interventions that involve both individuals AND populations at risk for adverse health conditions.
- Electives: Students select classes relevant to their interests or professional goals.
- Professional experiences: The Applied Practice Experience (APEx) allows students to assist or lead projects within community or governmental public health agencies in the US or abroad focused on advancing health. In the Culminating Experience (CE), students have the opportunity to synthesize theory and practice with a thesis style academic project.