JD/MD in Medicine: Curriculum

Law School Curriculum

Law School JD degree requirements for students entering Fall 2009 include satisfactory completion of 88 semester credits, and six semesters of full-time enrollment (defined as 12 semester credits or more). First-year students are required to take a core curriculum totaling 30 credits and comprised of the following courses: Beyond that, all courses are elective, except that a student must take a course in Professional Responsibility (3 credits) and Constitutional Law II (3 credits) before graduating. In addition, each student must satisfy a second-year writing requirement (typically by participating in a moot court or serving as a staff member on one of the Law School's law reviews), as well as a third-year writing requirement (typically satisfied by taking a course meeting this requirement, completing an independent research paper meeting this requirement, which may be an MS thesis, Plan B paper, PhD dissertation, or capstone project, or serving as an editor on one of the Law School's law reviews).

To see requirements for students entering in years other than 2009, visit www.law.umn.edu/current/degreerequirements.html.

In addition, all students in the Joint Degree Program in Law, Health & the Life Sciences take a professional seminar. This 1-credit Proseminar is taught cooperatively by faculty involved in the Joint Degree Program, offered on a pass-fail basis, and required each Fall semester that a student is enrolled in the Joint Degree Program.

Medical School Curriculum

As the sample plan reflects, JD/MD students devote their first two years and summers to credits taken exclusively in the Medical School; the third year, third summer, and fourth year to credits taken exclusively in the Law School; the fourth summer, fifth year, and fifth summer to credits taken exclusively in the Medical School; and the remaining year to credits taken in both. It is expected that JD/MD students will devote all of their summers to fulfilling program requirements.

All students in the Joint Degree Program in Law, Health & the Life Sciences will take a professional seminar. This 1-credit Proseminar will be taught cooperatively by faculty involved in the Joint Degree Program, offered on a pass-fail basis, and required each Fall semester that a student is enrolled in the Joint Degree Program. The Law School and Medical School will cooperate with the other units involved in the Joint Degree Program to support this course and to protect students. availability in the relevant time slot in the Fall semester. Medical students in years 5 and 6 of the Joint Degree Program may encounter schedule conflicts with the Proseminar due to their clinical commitments. The Director of the Joint Degree Program will address this on an individual basis and may excuse them from all or part of their Proseminar commitment.

Students seeking the JD/MD joint degree may take additional courses outside the Law School and the Medical School. Indeed, because of the interdisciplinary nature of the Joint Degree Program, students are encouraged to consider relevant courses in the broader University. Because of the intensity of the Medical School curriculum, students should evaluate seriously the demands on their time before requesting to enroll in additional courses while taking required Medical School courses. Each student should check with the administrator responsible for joint degree programs in each unit to clarify which courses are eligible for credit in that unit.

Medical School MD degree requirements include satisfactory completion of 188 semester credits, and 8 semesters and 3 summers of full-time enrollment. First- and second-year students are required to take a core curriculum totaling 112 credits. During these first two "preclinical" years students will learn scientific principles fundamental to the practice of medicine, explore ethics and professionalism issues, start to develop history-taking and physical examination skills, and begin to understand the pathophysiological basis for disease. All courses taken in the first two years are required courses and involve scheduled lectures, labs, and small group meetings. At the end of the second year students are prepared to take the USMLE Step 1 exam and move to the clinical part of their studies. During the third and fourth years of Medical School students determine their own schedule, which includes 52 weeks of required courses, 24 weeks of elective courses, and 8 weeks of free time. Each student works closely with a Medical School faculty advisor and other faculty members to plan a schedule.

Students may also participate in a research experience as part of the curriculum. Students should contact individual departments, faculty members, or the sponsoring organization to find out about research opportunities. There are off-campus opportunities offered by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC). NIH offers a 10-week Summer Research Fellowship Program for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd year medical students interested in biomedical research and a Clinical Electives Program, which offers 23 rotations in a wide range of clinical disciplines. The Clinical Electives Program offers sessions of 4, 8, or more weeks year-round. See the NIH's Research and Training Opportunities website for more information (www.training.nih.gov). The Epidemiology Program Office (EPO) of the CDC offers an epidemiology elective for senior medical students. The elective is 6-8 weeks scheduled in September through early June. See the EPO's website for further information (www.cdc.gov/epo). Research projects that involve a written product may be cross-counted in the Law School for independent writing credit.

Program requirements for years 3 and 4 of Medical School include 76 total credits/weeks (1 credit = 1 week) of clinical courses over two years. Required courses account for 52 credits/weeks. Required courses are Medicine 1 (6 weeks), Medicine II (6 weeks), Psychiatry (6 weeks), Obstetrics/Gynecology (6 weeks), Pediatrics (6 weeks), Surgery (6 weeks), Neurology (4 weeks), Primary Care Clerkship (4 weeks in Family Practice and 4 weeks in Medicine, Pediatrics, or Geriatrics Clinic), and Surgical Subspecialties (4 weeks in one or 2 weeks in two of Neurosurgery, Orthopaedic Surgery, Otolaryngology, or Urology). Twenty-four credits/weeks are completed through electives. Twelve credits/weeks must involve direct patient interaction and 12 credits/weeks may be without patient interaction (including research and international rotations). To the extent scheduling allows, required rotations should be completed before electives are taken.

The Medical School will create a 3-week preceptorship to prepare Joint Degree Program students to resume clinical rotations in the summer of their 4th year. This preceptorship will occur after Joint Degree Program students have completed 2nd year Law courses and before they resume clinical rotations, as indicated in Appendix A.

Medical students in the Joint Degree Program have 8 weeks total of free time during Years 3 and 4. Students may spend this time taking additional rotations or undertaking research. This time also provides opportunities for interviews for residencies as well as preparation for Step 2 of the USMLE board examination. Step 2 should be taken after the required rotations are completed but before February 1 of the final year of the Joint Degree Program.

Combining Curricula

Students in the Joint Degree Program combine their Law and science/health curricula by cross-counting up to 12 Law credits in their science or health program and up to 12 non-law credits in their Law School program. For more details, click on "Cross-Counting Courses" above.

JD/MS or JD/PhD students are eligible for a minor in bioethics, bioinformatics, or human genetics.