Combined Degree and
Physician Scholar Programs

The first step of the process is to gather information regarding the MD/ML dual degree. Interested students have several resources:

• Penn Law Master in Law Website — provides detailed information on the program and application process.
• Master in Law Report: At the Intersection of Medicine and Law article
• MD/ML Information Sessions — every fall and spring the Combined Degree office holds MD/ML Information Sessions specifically designed for medical students. Students will be notified via email prior to each session. You can view the recordings and powerpoints below.
  • August 22, 2022 Session: Recorded info session here and the PowerPoint here.
• Master in Law Program — interested candidates are encouraged to contact the Master in Law team, to discuss the Master of Law program at master@law.upenn.edu. 
• Assoc Director of CD Office — interested students are encouraged to contact Associate Director of Combined Degree Office, to discuss their interest in a Master’s program.
• Perelman School of Medicine (PSOM) Financial Aid Office — students considering the pursuit of an integrated dual degree program are strongly advised to meet with the PSOM Financial Aid Office to discuss financial planning and financial aid counseling.

Video testimonials of the ML program and courses:

• Dean Theodore Ruger, "The Law shouldn't just be limited to those who make their careers as lawyers"
• Levy Rivera, "Super beneficial to future physicians and even current practicing physicians."
• Dr. Howard Julien, "Stretches your critical reasoning skills that you never knew existed."
• Dr. Manoj K. Mittal, "A more informed consumer of the law."
• Dr. Narainder K. Gupta, "Just take a class and find out for yourself."
• Dr. Narainder K. Gupta, "Everyday is a learning phenomenon."
• Dr. Narainder K. Gupta, "Regulation is a conglomeration of everything."

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Once accepted into the MD/ML program, students will develop a curriculum plan in consultation with the Master in Law Program.

After a curriculum plan is developed, the student must notify the Registrar of the PSOM of his/her intention to pursue the MD/ML. 

Students should also meet with a staff member in the PSOM Financial Aid Office to discuss financial issues.

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Program Requirements:

The following requirements are needed for the ML degree :

• 4 required core foundation courses:
  1. U.S. Law and Legal Methods (LAWM 511-301)
  2. General Business Law (LAWM 528-301)
  3. Navigating the Regulatory State (LAWM 529-301)
  4. Health Law and Policy (LAWM 530-301)
• 4 elective courses:
  1. Elective from JD curriculum
  2. Elective from JD or ML curriculum
  3. MD curriculum transfer credit*
  4. MD curriculum transfer credit*

Required Course Units:               8

* Perelman medical students who are matriculated in the MD/ML program will earn one transfer credit for MOD6011 Doctoring 1B and one transfer credit for MOD320 Health Care Systems in the MD curriculum. 

Review ML Course Offerings. For more course course offering please visit Penn Law Course Finder.

Timing:

For students who decide to pursue the MD/ML in their third year of medical school, they are enrolled in the MD program for the first three years, ML program for the 4^th year, and the MD program for the 5^th year .

For students who decide to pursue the MD/ML upon matriculation to medical school, they will be able to take several ML courses during their first 3 semesters of medical school, which will enable them to complete the degree within 4 years. US Law and Legal Methods (LAWM 511-301) is highly recommended as a first course.

The sample plans of study below provide details about the timing of ML course work for those who are familiar with the Perelman School of Medicine curriculum. The Master in Law plan of study will be individualized for each student.

MD/ML Degree Completion Time:               5 Years (or 4 Years with advanced planning)

MD/ML Sample Study Plan:

The following are possible scheduling scenarios that an MD/ML student might follow. They are based on the assumption that students will complete the requirements for two transfer credits.

Sample 1: 5 year plan

Year	Fall	Spring	Summer	Tuition
1	MD curriculum	MD curriculum	1 LAW cu (Evening Likely)*	MD Tuition Fall & Spring; ML Tuition Summer
2	MD curriculum	MD curriculum	MD curriculum	MD Tuition Fall & Spring
3	MD curriculum	Boards 1 MD curriculum	MD curriculum	MD Tuition Fall & Spring
4	3 LAW cus	2 LAW cus (part-time)	MD curriculum	LAW Tuition Fall & Spring
5	Residency interviewing MD curriculum	Residency interviewing MD curriculum		MD Tuition Fall & Spring

*Intro to US Law and Legal Methods (LAWM 511-301) is highly recommended and is offered in the summer, which is a great time to take this course in the evening.

Sample 2: 4 year plan
It may be possible for a student to complete the MD/ML degree in 4 years, if the student front-loads their courses.

Year	Fall	Spring	Summer
1	1 LAW cu MD curriculum	1 LAW cu MD curriculum	1 LAW cu (Evening Likely)
2	1 LAW cu MD curriculum	MD curriculum	MD curriculum
3	MD curriculum	Boards 1 MD curriculum	MD curriculum
4	Residency interviewing MD curriculum	Residency interviewing 2 LAW cus MD curriculum

Medical School Planning:

There are several things to keep in mind when making your Medical School plans:

• The Master in Law degree counts as your Scholarly Pursuit requirement.
• MD/ML students need to complete 2 weeks of Frontiers and 1 week of Bioethics.

PSOM Additional Course Policy:

• The courses can be taken in any school in the University during the Fall or Spring semesters when the student is actively enrolled (not on a leave of absence or short-term break), and paying MD tuition (not just fees only).
• To take a course for credit in a Summer semester, MD tuition must be paid in full for the previous Spring and following Fall semesters. Only Perelman School of Medicine (such as: Bioethics, Epidemiology, Health Policy Research, Translational Research, Public Health) or School of Law courses may be taken during the Summer. A student may take only one course in a Summer semester limited to the UPenn course catalogue.
• In the event that a non-MD course requirement conflicts with an MD course requirement, the MD course must be given priority.

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Tuition Policy:

Tuition cost for the combined MD/ML program is far less than the total tuition cost would be if the two degrees were earned separately. MD/ML students will be charged 8 semesters of medical school tuition (6 semesters in years 1-3 and 2 semesters in year 5). During year 4, ML tuition will be charged per course unit (minimum of 2 cus per semester required).

Perelman medical students will be charged additional Law tuition for:

3 Law school course units

IF 2 transfer credits have been earned via MOD610 and MOD320,

AND

IF the student has not taken any other university registered credits under the PSOM Additional Course Policy, which allows med students to take 3 additional courses while registered for the MD program. Please refer to the PSOM Additional Course Policy for information on tuition implications.

Students will be charged for more than 3 course units if either of the above conditions are not met.  Students with questions about credits earned or needed should contact the Registrar of the Medical School.

Tuition:               $7,292/course (2021-2022)
Additional fees (i.e. general fee and learning fee) will apply and may vary depending on a student’s enrollment status and fees paid elsewhere at the University of Pennsylvania.  Please refer to the ML financial information page. 

Financial Aid:

As soon as a Perelman medical student is considering the pursuit of an integrated dual degree program, financial aid counseling and planning is strongly advised. Students should contact Michael Sabara, Director of Financial Services. He is available to help explain program costs, the financial aid process, funding options and how to apply for financial aid. Here are some things to consider:

1. When paying medical school tuition and registered as a medical student, an individual can retain his/her MD Scholarship (for tuition/living expenses) and has a Direct loan eligibility of $40,500. When a student is registered as a full time ML student, he/she is not eligible for a MD Scholarship (for tuition/living expenses) and has a Direct loan eligibility of $20,500. In accordance with federal regulations, all sources of aid (loan, scholarships, fellowships) cannot exceed the student budget.

1. Direct loans have aggregate limits, which are cumulative and include any undergraduate, graduate, and medical school loans borrowed in the Direct loan program. For any semester when a student is a full-time ML student (versus full-time MD student), the ML program aggregate limit is $138,500 versus the MD aggregate limit ($224,000).

1. Students who require funds in excess of their Direct loan may apply for a Direct PLUS loan. Details on this loan and instructions for applying can be found at the PSOM Financial Aid Office.

1. Tuition will be billed each semester based on course registration and program requirements. Financial aid is available only from the school charging tuition. It is the student’s responsibility to file all of the financial aid applications and documents required to the school in which he or she is enrolled. Students may not receive financial aid from both schools during the same semester. The student is limited to the policies and federal regulations surrounding each school’s educational program. Specific costs are determined annually and are available from the PSOM Financial Aid Office.

Part-time Student Status Implications:

If a student is considering a Master's curriculum plan that would include one or more part-time Masters semesters, we urge students to consider the following:

Part-time student:

- Is registered for 2 cus or 2.5 cus in a Masters primary semester.

- Is eligible for student loans and loan deferment.

- Part-time students’ health insurance (PSIP) coverage is not mandated by the University.  Students are strongly encouraged to continue health insurance of some kind and are eligible to opt-in to the PSIP plan.  

- To opt-in to PSIP: Online application during open enrollment periods. Please refer to the PSIP website for open enrollment schedule.

- A student who is full-time in the fall is considered subject to the insurance coverage requirement. This means that they must be enrolled in PSIP or waive out, and that enrollment or waiver is good for 12 months. If this student becomes part-time in the spring term, the PSIP enrollment or the waiver will not be terminated.

- A student who is part-time in the fall, and becomes full-time in the spring term will at that point become subject to the insurance requirement for the spring term and must then waive out or be enrolled for that term. 

- The clinical fee, which provides access to Student Health Services (SHS), is mandatory when on PSIP. A Primary Care Physician (PCP) designation needs to be considered for students who are not opting into SHS and who used SHS before for this purpose. If a part-time student is not enrolled in PSIP, they can opt-in to the clinical fee to have access to SHS. Students can stop by SHS for the application or call the insurance office at 215-746-3535 to request it.

- Is not eligible for Penn gym membership, but the student pays less in fees, which hopefully offsets this expense.

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The admissions process for the MD/ML program is competitive. A Perelman medical student may apply to the ML program during his/her first, second or third year.

Admissions process:
There are two steps to applying:

1. Apply to the Master in Law Program
   Review and follow the application instructions. Students are encouraged to contact the Master in Law Program at master@law.upenn.edu for more information.
2. Submit Master's Program Registration Form to the Combined Degree Office
   In addition to submitting an MD/ML application, Perelman medical students must also submit a Master's Program Registration Form to the Associate Director of the Combined Degree and Physician Scholar Programs Office (6th Floor JMEC).

Application Deadline:               Rolling Basis until March 15 of third year
(Please note that a student will be admitted for the semester following application submission.)

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For more information about the MD/ML program, contact:

Penn Law School: Catharine Restrepo, Esq. L'93 Executive Director Master in Law Program 215-898-4083 Natalie Dury Green Director of Operations Master in Law Program 215-746-1877 Kait Johnstone Assistant Director Master in Law Program 215-573-2952 Laura Valenti Administrative Coordinator Master in Law Program 215-573-2952 master@law.upenn.edu

Perelman School of Medicine: Francia G. Portacio, MPH Associate Director Combined Degree and Physician Scholar Programs Office Jordan Medical Education Ctr, 6th Floor 3400 Civic Center Blvd, BLDG 421 Philadelphia, PA 19104-5162 215-746-2359 francia.portacio@pennmedicine.upenn.edu Registrar Jordan Medical Education Ctr, 6th Floor 3400 Civic Center Blvd, BLDG 421 Philadelphia, PA 19104-5162 215-898-1165 psomregistrar@pennmedicine.upenn.edu Michael Sabara Director of Financial Services Financial Aid Office Jordan Medical Education Ctr, 6th Floor 3400 Civic Center Blvd, BLDG 421 Philadelphia, PA 19104-5162 215-573-3423 msabara@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

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1. What is the typical professional background of a ML lecturer?
Master in Law instructors could be practitioners, adjuncts or tenured faculty. For the most part, ML courses are taught by lecturers who are practitioners experienced in their fields, bridging legal principles and practice and translating complex legal concepts to professionals who are not lawyers but who interact with the law on a regular basis. Based on the understanding that many students come to the program without a law background, our lecturers make legal concepts digestible while providing students with a solid foundation for their future ML and JD courses. Learn more about ML lecturers.  

2. Do I have to take Intro to US Law and Legal Methods before taking any other course?
No; however, it is highly recommended and is offered during fall, spring, and summer terms. 

3. The med school curriculum varies so much, what happens if I miss a ML class?
No problem. While the expectation is to attend all your classes, there is an understanding that you may encounter conflicts due to your medical school curriculum and obligations. Informing the course instructor in advance of your scheduled conflict and keeping open lines of communication regarding this is preferred. ML courses are recorded, so you can watch the video afterwards to catch up and supplement your notes.
 
4. Is the course workload difficult?
No, the ML courses are quite manageable and comparable to other graduate level courses but does involve some planning.
 
5. Are there any other options for med students if my schedule does not permit me to pursue the entire ML degree?
Yes, taking one or more courses when your schedule allows is a good option.  Another option is a Certificate in Law, which requires the completion of 4 courses.

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