Earning an M.D. and a Ph.D. in Computer Science
Becoming a Physician Scientist
In May 2022 I became the first person to graduate from Duke University with an MD and a PhD in Computer Science. The process took eight years: three years of medical school and five years of graduate school. One of the most common questions I heard from other students and occasionally professors was “Why are you doing medical school and a Computer Science PhD?” Well, here is a post answering that question! I’ve formatted it as an FAQ based on many conversations I’ve had on the topic. If you’re interested in medicine and computer science, I hope you will consider this training pathway!
Why did you decide to do an MD/PhD? Did you always know you wanted to do an MD/PhD? Did you always like computer science?
The short answer: I decided to do an MD/PhD because by the end of college I wanted to be a doctor and I wanted to do research so I decided to do both. I didn’t learn about MD/PhD programs until I was a senior in college, and I became interested in computer science during college.
The long answer:
When I was a toddler, the first time someone asked me, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I apparently answered “truck driver” because I loved trucks (especially cement mixers). In elementary school I wanted to…
