<p>I was recently discussing with my advisor which grad schools to apply to. He suggested that in addition to applying to programs at Harvard and Johns Hopkins, I could also apply to graduate school at Harvard Med and Johns Hopkins Med. Honestly, I don't know much about the grad school application process, and I didn't even know that you could apply to get a PhD from a med school.</p>
<p>I was wondering, is there anyone out who knows a lot about this? What's the difference between getting a PhD from a med school and from a normal grad program? Anyone have any firsthand experience? </p>
<p>i know that molliebatmit has mentioned that specifically for harvard, almost all the biomedical research labs are available to all grad school students, so there is not much difference between getting into the med school for a phd vs their umbrella program except in coursework.</p>
<p>however, it might be more difficult to get into one versus the other.</p>
<p>I wouldn't say that the choice is between getting a PhD at a medical school versus "a normal grad program" -- it's just that research faculty in the biological sciences are sometimes affiliated with medical schools. But both are perfectly normal ways to go about getting a PhD in the biomedical sciences. Different schools just house their programs in different departments, and some schools have more than one program.</p>
<p>I'm a student at Harvard in one of the medical school-based programs (BBS), and my baymate in the lab is a student in one of the graduate school-based programs (MCB). We have different coursework requirements and different teaching requirements, but we're obviously completing our theses in the same lab with the same advisor.</p>
<p>You should apply to the programs whose faculty members have research programs which interest you. Whether the program is based in a graduate school or a medical school isn't terribly germane to the decision.</p>
<p>One further question... is it common for people to apply to both the med school PhD program and the grad school (MCB and BBS at Harvard)? Are the applications considered separately?</p>
<p>The programs are entirely separate, so you could apply to both, but you'd have to complete both applications (and pay both application fees!). Most of the people with whom I interviewed picked either MCB or BBS, but I think that was more out of the practical considerations than anything else.</p>
<p>Some number of people must apply to both, because the MCB and BBS interview/recruitment weekends don't historically overlap.</p>
<p>Right -- even the medical school-based programs are joint FAS and HMS programs, so students in the Division of Medical Sciences are students both of FAS and of the medical school. FAS officially awards the degrees. (I originally had that information in the post, but I figured it was more complex than it needed to be. :))</p>