Advice for Portuguese Doctor-to-be
January 31, 2010 9:04 PM Subscribe
Is there any funding out there for international med students in the US?
My girlfriend, who is from Portugal, is about to start applying to medical programs in the New England/NYC area. A little on her background: she already has a PhD in biomedical engineering, and is now doing some post-doc research at Harvard. She is looking to get into a MD/PhD, although she was recently advised that an MD would be more realistic. Any suggestions for funding out there? Bonus points to anyone who's had a similar experience...I'd love to hear all about it!
My girlfriend, who is from Portugal, is about to start applying to medical programs in the New England/NYC area. A little on her background: she already has a PhD in biomedical engineering, and is now doing some post-doc research at Harvard. She is looking to get into a MD/PhD, although she was recently advised that an MD would be more realistic. Any suggestions for funding out there? Bonus points to anyone who's had a similar experience...I'd love to hear all about it!
Okay, if she already has a Ph.D., getting a second one, particularly in the hard sciences, is going to be a tough sell. The positions are funded--if you have to pay to go to graduate school, you're doing it wrong--but getting a department to invest in you when you've already got the degree they're offering will be tricky. She'll need a very compelling reason for wanting a second doctorate.
On the other hand, an MD is a professional doctorate, not one which usually involves all that much research. You get an MD if you want to do clinical work with actual patients. Yes, MDs can do research, but I'm not aware of any that don't do patient care, and I'm aware of plenty that don't do any research. There is limited funding for medical school, but most of the time you're simply expected to borrow your way through it. Here, being of foreign origin will be a disadvantage, because I do not believe that foreign nationals are eligible for Stafford loans, which are the primary source of student loans for higher education in this country.
I think the real question here is what exactly your girlfriend wants to do. It really doesn't sound like you have a clear idea, and she may not either.
posted by valkyryn at 5:40 AM on February 1, 2010
On the other hand, an MD is a professional doctorate, not one which usually involves all that much research. You get an MD if you want to do clinical work with actual patients. Yes, MDs can do research, but I'm not aware of any that don't do patient care, and I'm aware of plenty that don't do any research. There is limited funding for medical school, but most of the time you're simply expected to borrow your way through it. Here, being of foreign origin will be a disadvantage, because I do not believe that foreign nationals are eligible for Stafford loans, which are the primary source of student loans for higher education in this country.
I think the real question here is what exactly your girlfriend wants to do. It really doesn't sound like you have a clear idea, and she may not either.
posted by valkyryn at 5:40 AM on February 1, 2010
Response by poster: So it's about a career shift. She really wants the MD, but doesn't want to toss the work she's done in research. Eventually, she would work directly with patients, while keeping active in the research world as well. She has done a lot of work with bio-materials, cancer, and immunology. Her passion is in psychiatry (she has talked about working with people undergoing cancer treatment). Thanks for your advice!
posted by ajliberto at 8:17 AM on February 1, 2010
posted by ajliberto at 8:17 AM on February 1, 2010
I don't think medical schools in the US accept non-US or non-Canadian citizens for the MD programs. Try the Caribbean.
posted by anniecat at 9:17 AM on February 1, 2010
posted by anniecat at 9:17 AM on February 1, 2010
One more point: from the FIU page, it looks like funding at the very few schools that accept international students is non-existent.
posted by anniecat at 9:23 AM on February 1, 2010
posted by anniecat at 9:23 AM on February 1, 2010
Seconding that she doesn't really need the second Ph.D. -- that materials research background could be really handy (and attractive) for projects related to translational cancer medicine.
If she hasn't already, she should find out whether Harvard's Office of Postdoctoral Affairs can help her navigate the possibility of medical school programs in the US.
posted by desuetude at 9:35 AM on February 1, 2010
If she hasn't already, she should find out whether Harvard's Office of Postdoctoral Affairs can help her navigate the possibility of medical school programs in the US.
posted by desuetude at 9:35 AM on February 1, 2010
Oh, she should contact the National Postdoctoral Association and the American Physician-Scientists Association too, to see if they can point her towards resources/advice/others who have navigated similar situations.
posted by desuetude at 9:38 AM on February 1, 2010
posted by desuetude at 9:38 AM on February 1, 2010
As anniecat indicates, most US medical schools do not accept foreign nationals unless they either have permanent residency status, have completed their undergraduate work in the US, or both. There are indeed tons of Asians and more than a few Africans in US medical schools--I've known quite a number of both--but almost all of them went to a US undergraduate institution.
Still, having a Ph.D. in a relavent discipline is going to make her application unique enough that she should probably contact interesting medical schools directly to see what they can do for her. Most graduate schools are willing to go a little out of their way to attract particularly promising applicants, and medical schools are no exception.
But anniecat is right that what funding does exist isn't going to be available to her. This is actually a pretty big deal, as $100k in tuition alone sounds really cheap. Top flight schools--which will probably be the ones who will be most willing to work with her on the admissions process--can easily cost twice that, and in either case, living expenses will add another $50-60k. She may be able to find a private lender who will work with her, but it would not surprise me at all to learn that this will be difficult without a US citizen/resident co-signer.
posted by valkyryn at 9:48 AM on February 1, 2010
Still, having a Ph.D. in a relavent discipline is going to make her application unique enough that she should probably contact interesting medical schools directly to see what they can do for her. Most graduate schools are willing to go a little out of their way to attract particularly promising applicants, and medical schools are no exception.
But anniecat is right that what funding does exist isn't going to be available to her. This is actually a pretty big deal, as $100k in tuition alone sounds really cheap. Top flight schools--which will probably be the ones who will be most willing to work with her on the admissions process--can easily cost twice that, and in either case, living expenses will add another $50-60k. She may be able to find a private lender who will work with her, but it would not surprise me at all to learn that this will be difficult without a US citizen/resident co-signer.
posted by valkyryn at 9:48 AM on February 1, 2010
If she wants a research career, her best route is likely to first secure that research career. Taking time off for med school will hurt her ability to be hired as an academic research scientist. Bang out some nice publications in her postdoc, do the tenure-track at a research university, and then look for retraining funding opportunities available to independent investigators (maybe an F33?). Doing med school as a PI will be a lot of work, but as faculty, she'll have some leverage with the medical school at her institution. Plus, this gives her time to get permanent residency or citizenship. I know of a couple people who have taken a similar route, though they're kind of the superstar workaholic type...
Funding for M.D. programs (apart from loans) is basically nonexistent.
posted by mr_roboto at 10:29 AM on February 1, 2010
Funding for M.D. programs (apart from loans) is basically nonexistent.
posted by mr_roboto at 10:29 AM on February 1, 2010
There are indeed tons of Asians
I think they are all US citizens, typically born and raised here or naturalized.
posted by anniecat at 10:48 AM on February 1, 2010
I think they are all US citizens, typically born and raised here or naturalized.
posted by anniecat at 10:48 AM on February 1, 2010
anniecat, a lot of them are, yes, but no small percentage of Indian physicians have been trained in the US.
posted by valkyryn at 11:33 AM on February 1, 2010
posted by valkyryn at 11:33 AM on February 1, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by desuetude at 9:51 PM on January 31, 2010