MD/MA Dual-Degree Program

Alumni Outcomes

Northwestern MD/MA graduates match in all specialties, including emergency medicine, surgery, ob/gyn, internal medicine, pediatrics, psychiatry, and plastic surgery. Our fourth-year students often report that their MA program participation is raised in residency interviews as rare, additional training that sets them apart from other candidates.

Equipped with both degrees, MD/MA graduates often apply their MHB education in roles of ethics leadership at their institutions, in research and publishing, in medical education, and in policy and advocacy work. Our graduates often express that their medical humanities and bioethics education gives them additional confidence in their clinical decision making and makes them better doctors.

Tuition

The tuition for the MA portion of the combined MD/MA program is approximately $47,000 (versus approximately $81,000 for the MA as a freestanding student). Your MA tuition follows the same billing cycle as the medical tuition, with the first half of each year's tuition in the summer and the second in the winter. This amount is set by the medical school and increases should be expected in each new academic year.

Substantial financial aid is available. Medical students with high financial need can expect over half of their MA tuition to be covered by financial aid provided by the MHB graduate program.

Admissions

Applications to the combined medical and master of arts program (combined MD/MA program) begin with an application for admission to Northwestern's Feinberg School of Medicine. There is a separate application for the master's degree portion of the program, because this degree is provided by the Graduate School. Since our application deadline is much later than the medical school's, we recommend that you wait to hear that you have been accepted into the MD program before completing the second application.

In addition to the application and an application fee of $95, you must provide a one-page statement of purpose describing why you are seeking a combined-degree program, as well as a writing sample. We require two letters of recommendation from a faculty member or employer. You may reuse one letter that was written for your medical school application, but at least one letter must address your interest in bioethics or the medical humanities and your ability to do graduate-level work. MCAT scores will be accepted in place of GRE scores. Uploading unofficial transcripts is sufficient for the application.

If English is not your native language, you must provide official scores from the TOEFL or IELTS standardized test that fulfill the requirements defined by The Graduate School. You are exempt from this requirement if you have previously completed a degree from an accredited institution where the primary language of instruction is English.

Applications and all supplemental materials must be received by the application deadline—see below.

Contact Us

Please email Bryan Morrison for additional information or assistance.