Joint Degrees
M.D./Ph.D. Program with UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Rutgers-New Brunswick
The Princeton Graduate School has a partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (RWJMS) and the Rutgers University (New Brunswick) Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences to serve as a Ph.D. site for students enrolled in the M.D./Ph.D. program of RWJMS.
Students admitted to the M.D./Ph.D. program at RWJMS perform laboratory rotations at Princeton during the summer before and the summer after the first year of the pre-clinical portion of the program, prior to their enrollment as doctoral students, and subject to the approval of the faculty member. Following the second rotation, a student will choose a laboratory for her/his Ph.D. research by mutual agreement with a faculty adviser and approval by the Graduate School.
Students who are accepted to work with a faculty member in, or an affiliated faculty member of, the Department of Molecular Biology will enter the Ph.D. program and receive that degree from Princeton. These students will fulfill Graduate School and departmental requirements, including the one-year residence requirement, taking and passing the General Examination, and sustaining the Final Public Oral Examination. (It is likely that pre-clinical coursework at RWJMS will substitute for the department’s core curriculum.)
The Ph.D. portion of the joint program is expected to take three-to-four years. Extension beyond a fourth year requires approval from the Academic Affairs Committee of the joint degree program.
M.P.A./J.D. degree through the Woodrow Wilson School
Some students may wish to combine the School's program in public affairs with study for a degree in a related professional field. A joint M.P.A.-J.D. degree program that combines public affairs with the study of law is offered in cooperation with the law schools of New York University, Columbia, Stanford, and Yale. On occasion, joint programs with other law schools have been possible when approved by the Woodrow Wilson School and the cooperating law school.
The joint program shortens the time involved in obtaining the two degrees and makes possible an effective combination of the several disciplines involved in public policy analysis. Participating students spend five semesters at the cooperating law school and three semesters at the Woodrow Wilson School, thus reducing by two semesters the normal time required to earn the two degrees. Enrollment in the joint program requires separate application and admission to each school.
For a limited number of exceptionally strong candidates, the School is prepared to accept joint programs that combine public affairs with the study for a degree in fields such as business management, engineering, and public health. Proposals giving a detailed rationale for such a joint program must be submitted to the faculty chair of the M.P.A. program. Because combined fields entail overlapping study, joint degree programs will normally shorten by one semester the length of time required to complete each of the individual programs.