The joint doctoral program at the Alpert Medical School may be putting new admissions on hold due to financial constraints, said Philip Gruppuso, associate dean for medicine education and interim director of the joint program.
Because the program only admits two students each year, it is not a visible target for fundraising efforts, he said.
Students in the joint program earn both a medical degree and a doctorate after spending six to nine years at Brown, according to the program's website.
At a research institution like Brown, having so few students pursuing both degrees leads to a "very limited impact on the research enterprise here," Gruppuso said. As a result, discussions will be occurring about potentially putting a hiatus on admissions into the program, he said, adding that this will not affect the status of the program's current students.
No longer having it is "not going to benefit us reputationally, but I don't think we have much to lose," he said.
Students in most joint medical and doctoral programs are awarded full tuition plus a stipend. But because Brown's program is "a relatively young institution, we've never been able to support our students in that way," Grappuso said.
Many institutions with established joint programs receive funding from the Medical Scientist Training Program for student financial assistance, said Daniel Cho '07 GS.
But Brown does not receive funding from the program, Cho said. The training program is run by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, one of the National Institutes of Health.
Brown seemed "ready to apply for MSTP funding" under Zimmerman, Cho said, but eventually "it fizzled out."
As a result, students in the program have to pay for the first two years of medical school, Cho said, but receive full tuition for years three and four as well as a stipend while pursuing the doctoral portion of the program.
It is also difficult for the program to secure donations, Cho said. Unless donations to Brown are specifically designated for the joint program, they are usually shunted away to other areas such as the new medical school building, he said.
Getting more funding for the program has been "a priority for several years now," Gruppuso said. But it is difficult "to generate something in the neighborhood of $10 million," an amount which would significantly impact the program.
"This is a time when resources are precious," Gruppuso said, adding that Brown has a number of places where money is needed such as maintaining and expanding the number of students entering the Graduate School, providing financial aid for medical students and continuing the commitment made to the new medical school building.
For students at Brown, the program is a "major financial sacrifice" as well as a "huge commitment," Gruppuso said.
Despite the drawbacks, the program has still been able to recruit excellent students, Gruppuso said, but it has been "a number of years since we've recruited students from" schools other than Brown.
To streamline the process, admissions has been more focused on students already connected to Brown because they are more likely to end up matriculating, he said.
Cho said that he decided to pursue his degrees at Brown because he wanted to continue to do research with his supervisor, Professor of Medical Science and Engineering Edith Mathiowitz.
When advising Brown students on choosing a joint doctoral program, Gruppuso said he often tells students to apply to fully funded programs. Brown has a high success rate of admission into these programs, including some of the top programs in the country, he said.
After acceptance into one of these programs, Gruppuso said, students are "not going to decide to come here," when program costs can run in excess of $200,000.
Many of the students have tried to take initiative to improve the program, Cho said, adding that a strong joint program could "make the Med School and Grad School that much better."
It is important to have people who are trained in both clinical medicine and research, he added, and students earning both doctorates and medical degrees are truly able to "bridge the gap."
"We love this program," Cho said, adding that it is sad the "program that trains physician-scientists isn't getting support."
The joint program has been a success when considering the many accomplishments of the students, Gruppuso said, but overall it "has not enhanced our reputation."
Recruiting a new permanent director of the program has not been pursued because the "program was really shrinking and struggling for funding," Gruppuso said, and the Med School "could only justify hiring someone to take this on if we could really grow and support" the program.
Gruppuso assumed the role of interim director of the program after Professor of Medical Science Anita Zimmerman stepped down from the position in 2007.
"She did a great job," Gruppuso said, adding that the main factor in her decision to step down was the large time commitment.
