Special Opportunities

The College of Medicine offers several options for students who may want to expand upon the traditional MD degree.

MD/MPH: Medical students at SUNY Upstate Medical University can earn a Master of Public Health degree while earning their MD degree. Students will need to take a year off between the second and third years or third and fourth years of medical school to complete the MPH.

MD/PhD: The MD/PhD program combines academic medicine and medical research, and offers students a wide selection of research areas for their laboratory work.

Rural Medical Education Program (RMED): Medical students in the Rural Medicine program spend nine months bridging their third and fourth years in a medically underserved community. The program, run by the Department of Family Medicine, is for students interested in careers in primary care or in practicing a specialty in rural areas or small towns.

Medical Student Research Program (MSRP): This program is for medical students who wish to acquire a strong research background while working toward their MD degree. Students in MSRP work with faculty in the basic sciences and clinical research departments, and are assigned three 12-week periods for research over three years.

SUNY Upstate also offers other options for medical students, including Summer Anatomy the summer before the first year of medical school, and the post-second year Pathology Fellowship.