The curriculum combines classroom and clinical training in the UCSD School of Medicine with research in a graduate department. Flexibility of curriculum is a hallmark of the program at UCSD, and each student's program is individualized. By its nature, medical school education is quite broad, encompassing subjects from biochemistry to cultural anthropology. In contrast, graduate education provides a narrower focus and greater depth, both in terms of exposure to current thinking in a specific discipline and in the development and execution of a doctoral thesis problem. NIH funds only 38 other Medical Scientist Training Programs .
Appointees enter the program with a diverse range of academic backgrounds and life experiences.
Currently there are 52 students in the program working in 8 different graduate departments, with one in four women, four in ten people of color, and one in ten underrepresented minority. The program is committed to recruiting a diverse student body. The MSTP fully supports affirmative action programs and endorses federal efforts in this regard. Approximately 7 entering students join the program each year. All trainees receive full support for stipend, tuition, and health fees during all years of the program.