General Info & FAQ
What is this program?
As the name implies, the dual degree program in M&I and HME is a program wherein students earn a PhD in Microbiology and Immunology and an MS in Hospital and Molecular Epidemiology at the same time. The program is intended to provide students interested in all aspects of infectious disease and immunity with interdisciplinary training in both the biomedical sciences and molecular epidemiology. The program takes roughly the same length of time as the standard PhD in M&I (though of course it is more intense) and does not cost you any extra tuition money. The dual degree program makes the degrees interdependent, and you will not receive the MS until you’ve completed the PhD. If you’re planning to stop with a Masters, this is not the program for you.
Why would I want this extra degree?
The dual degree program is a great opportunity to pursue an interest in epidemiology in addition to your primary interest in microbiology and immunology. If you have only a passing interest in public health, however, you could just take a few public health courses as electives instead of earning a whole extra degree. So why would you bother doing this dual degree program instead?
First, the dual degree program allows you to pursue your interest in public health and epidemiology much further than you could by taking a few electives. By fulfilling the dual degree curriculum, you’ll gain a detailed knowledge of hospital and molecular epidemiology as well as a broader perspective on public health in general. In addition, the dual degree program incorporates courses in biostatistics that will give you valuable quantitative training.
Of course, getting an extra degree is a great credential, too. Your MS in hospital and molecular epidemiology will make you a more competitive applicant for positions that require an interdisciplinary skill set – research positions at the CDC, for instance. Even if you want to follow a career path in biomedical research, the MS in HME will help you stand out when you’re applying for jobs and funding. Employers and funding agencies alike are increasingly looking for researchers with quantitative training and interdisciplinary knowledge. Your dual degree will provide you with both.
Why is the degree an MS and not an MPH?
Complicated funding reasons. The MS and MPH in HME actually have exactly the same course and research requirements except for the CEPH requirements that are required for the MPH, but not the MS.
How does funding for this work?
You’ll be paid the same stipend as any other PIBS PhD student, and your stipend and tuition will be covered for the same length of time (up to 7 years). But your course schedule will be heavier than other students' schedules. That is, you may a little less work on your thesis in your second year than others since you’ll have so many courses – or at least, faculty members are worried you’ll be doing less. Acknowledging this, on a case-by-case basis, the department may provide funding for dual degree students for a few extra months during the second year.
I’m entering through PIBS – can I switch PhD programs and still do the dual degree?
Since you’re entering the PhD program through PIBS, you are of course welcome to switch to a different PhD program at any time during your first year. Confirm with the PIBS program of interest that they will support pursuing the dual degree. It wouldn’t necessarily be impossible to do the dual degree with a PhD in a different PIBS program, but you would have to file an application for a student-initiated dual degree and you might not be able to get your courses to overlap as well. This could mean that you might have to pay the tuition for some of your extra courses out of your own pocket. You may also have to take additional HME related laboratory courses. If you’re thinking of switching departments, talk to your new department about whether and how you can make the dual degree work.
Note that in order to be part of the M&I program, your dissertation mentor needs to be a member of the M&I faculty. You may also be able to arrange a co-mentorship with one faculty member from the M&I faculty and another outside the department, but it is mandatory that at least one of your mentors be an M&I faculty member. Also, due to recent PIBS regulation changes, your M&I affiliated mentor CANNOT have his/her primary appointment in the School of Public Health, even if s/he has a joint appointment in M&I. Make sure to take these rules into consideration when you’re selecting your rotations!
Will my PI be annoyed that I’m doing this dual degree program? What if s/he tells me I can’t do it?
All PIs are different, but most won’t care how many degrees you’re getting as long as you’re doing good work in the lab. The most important thing for you to do is to be up front with faculty members when you set up your rotations. Make sure to tell them immediately that you’re planning to do a dual degree. We even have a form for them to sign – it basically just says that they know you’re considering the dual degree. Having clear communication up front will make sure your PI doesn’t feel misled, and it will also give you a chance to gauge how supportive of the dual degree program the professor will be. Some PIs will be very excited about the idea and applaud your initiative; others will be more hesitant. Very few, however, will tell you that you can’t rotate with them if you’re planning to do this program. Just be sure to emphasize that you understand that your program will be challenging but that you’re willing to work extra hard to make up for that fact! And then make sure you do work extra hard.
Can I work in a lab in the public health school?
Yes, but only under certain conditions. As a PIBS student, all of your rotations must be with at least one mentor who has a primary or joint appointment in a PIBS program. So if you’d like to rotate in a public health school lab, you’ll need to either choose one of the (few) labs with a PI who has a joint appointment in a PIBS program or get someone who is in PIBS to act as your co-mentor. Different faculty members will likely have different expectations for what a co-mentorship arrangement entails; so once again, make clear communication a priority.
Things are a little trickier if you want to do your dissertation in a public health school lab. At present, the only way to do this is by having a co-mentorship with a faculty member with an appointment in M&I and whose primary appointment is NOT in the School of Public Health. That means that even if the SPH professor you want to work with has a joint appointment in M&I, you would still need another M&I-affiliated co-mentor. The reasons for this have to do with more funding issues – you basically need someone who is NOT in the School of Public Health who can provide funding for you in case your SPH mentor’s funding falls through. The co-mentorship is thus a very serious agreement between you and your co-mentors, so make sure that you’re prepared to work very hard to make co-mentoring you worth their while.
Since it may not be feasible for you to do your thesis in an SPH lab even if you are able to arrange a rotation, you should think carefully about rotating in an SPH lab if you don’t feel that you already have good options for a permanent laboratory home. Although the increased exposure to epidemiology research is valuable, having a thesis is more important.
How can I make sure I still finish on time?
With the extra work that the dual degree program entails, it can be easy to fall behind on your research. Here are some tips to make sure that doesn’t happen:
Start early. If at all possible, do a summer rotation before classes start. This rotation will give you a good chance to get some research experience without the distraction of a heavy course load, and it will ensure that you get to try out a variety of labs. Because the second tip is…
Full term rotations are recommended. With the extra coursework you’re taking on, you’ll need a full term to get a good feel for each lab you’re rotating in. Pick your labs carefully and do full term rotations in each so that you can be certain that the lab you pick for your thesis is really the right lab for you. Some dual-degree students have done half-term rotations successfully, however.
Load up on courses during your first year. The work students do in their rotations rarely contributes to their thesis; the main idea is to get a feel for the lab and let the professor get to know you. You still need to work hard in your rotations, but if you take a lot of courses in the first year you’ll have more time and more flexibility during your second year, allowing you to make faster progress on your thesis then.
Expect to work hard. By signing up for this dual degree program, you’re committing yourself to a lot more work than most PhD students. If you want to get out on time, you’re going to have to spend more time working and less time playing than a lot of your friends. This is not to say that you’ll never be able to have fun again, but you will need to focus on time management. Think of the dual degree as a big extracurricular activity: you can definitely do an MS and a PhD, but the MS might need to replace that intramural soccer league you would otherwise join.
What if I decide not to get the MS after all?
If after a few terms in the dual degree program you decide you’d rather just get one degree, that’s completely fine; you can drop the second degree at any time. You need four credits of elective coursework for the M&I PhD in any case, so your HME credits can count towards that requirement. Even if you spend just one semester in the program you’ll probably have more elective credits than you really need, but those credits won’t count against you in any way.
How does this compare to getting the two degrees separately?
For the dual degree program, you’ll actually take fewer credits than you would need to take if you did the two degrees independently. There is some overlap in subject material between the two programs, however, so you won’t actually be losing any content. Instead, some required M&I courses are substituting for some required EPID courses, and the EPID laboratory research methods course has been waived (we assume doing an M&I thesis will teach you something about laboratory research methods).
What are the required courses?
See link elsewhere on this site.
What would my program of study look like?
See link elsewhere on this site.
Who is the contact in M&I regarding this dual degree program?
Adam Lauring
alauring@med.umich.edu
Who are the contacts in the School of Public Health regarding this dual degree program?
Elvira Rivera (eromero@umich.edu), Student Services Representative
Dr. Briana Mezuk, bmezuk@umich.edu, Associate Professor