Other disciplines in which MSTP participants can pursue graduate study are the computer sciences, social and behavioral sciences, economics, epidemiology, public health, bioengineering, biostatistics, and bioethics. MSTP grants are made to universities and their medical schools, which are responsible for program operation and trainee selection. About 170 positions for new students are available nationwide each year. Selection for admission is highly competitive. For those selected, the program provides a maximum of six years of support, although an individual's course of study for the combined degree may take somewhat longer.
All institutions identify other sources of support for a trainee's additional years of study.
Many institutions supplement the basic stipend provided by the MSTP grant. Continued support for an individual student is subject to annual renewal based on the trainee's satisfactory performance in the program and the institution's successful competition for funds at the time of grant renewal every three to five years. Trainees incur no payback obligation. PhD degree programs which provide students the opportunity to earn both the MD and the PhD in areas pertinent to medicine. Although only 39 schools have Medical Scientist Training Programs that are supported by the NIH, other medical schools have similar programs.