Transfer Policy

We do not accept transfers from outside Weill Cornell Medical College.

Transfer from Weill Cornell Medical College into the Tri-Institutional MD-PhD Program

The Weill Cornell/Rockefeller/Sloan Kettering Tri-Institutional MD-PhD Program (Tri-I) welcomes applications from medical students enrolled in Weill Cornell Medical College (WCMC) who wish to transfer into the MD-Program. (Note that we do not accept transfer applicants from outside WCMC.)

Eligibility

To be considered for transfer, a WCMC medical student must have completed at least one major research experience with a research faculty member who has an appointment at WCMC, Weill Cornell Graduate School (WCGS), The Rockefeller University (RU), or the Sloan Kettering Institute (SKI). Practically, this means students transfer either mid-way through their clerkship year (M2), which puts them on the same trajectory as “typical” MD-PhD students, or after their Area of Concentration (AoC) project (M3). All transfer applicants must be in good standing at WCMC at time of application and transfer and have successfully passed USMLE Step 1 (if transferring after M2) as well as USMLE Step 2 (if transferring after M3). It is strongly recommended that applicants who plan to transfer enroll in the MD-PhD course Frontiers in Biomedical Science I and II in M1 and M2; if the applicant has not done so, they will be expected to satisfactorily complete both courses post-transfer.

Application Procedure

  1. All applicants must be in good academic standing at time of application and transfer.
  2. Any WCMC student who is contemplating applying for transfer into Tri-I should contact Dr. Catharine Boothroyd (cab4003@med.cornell.edu).
  3. Applications for transfer after M2 should be received no later than May 1 of M1 so that the student can be enrolled in the MD-PhD student-specific clerkship lottery. Applications for transfer after M3 should be received not later than April 1 of M3 so that the student can transfer on July 1.
  4. The application should include:
    1. A personal statement in which the applicant summarizes their research background and scientific interests, as well as the reasons for wanting to pursue the combined degree.
    2. Recommendation letters from at least two science faculty members who can evaluate the applicant's research potential and suitability for a combined degree program. One of these letters must be from a member of the research faculty at WCMC, WCGS, RU, or SKI.
  5. Applicants must ensure that their original medical school application package and WCMC transcripts are forwarded to the Tri-I Program Office by the application deadline. Students in M3 and above should also submit their USMLE Step 2 score.

Evaluation and Decision

Applications for transfer into Tri-I will be evaluated by the Program's Director and Executive Committee. Applicants will be interviewed by members of the Executive Committee before a decision to accept or reject the application is made. Final acceptance into Tri-I will be contingent on being in good standing at the time of transfer, including passing USMLE Step 1 (if transferring after M2) and USMLE Step 2 (if transferring after M3). A final decision will need to be rendered by the P&G Committee.

If the decision is made to invite the applicant to join Tri-I, a plan of study will be devised to ensure that the applicant's research training is comparable to that for all Tri-I students. This plan will be spelled out in the Letter of Acceptance, which will be signed by the Program Director.