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.
Most students complete both MD and PhD degrees in eight years or less.
Multiple career paths are available to graduates, but 90 percent will choose to obtain further training in one of the specialty areas of medicine. About 10 percent do postdoctoral work in a basic science area. Our graduates uniformly achieve their first or second choice residency. Over the last 12 years, approximately 90 percent of graduates have subsequently accepted positions in academic health centers. UCSD, located in La Jolla, California, is a campus of unusual strength in the biological sciences.