Peabody offers a joint program that leads to completion of both the M.D. and M.Ed. degrees in five years.

Whether a student chooses a career in research or clinical practice, there always will be a need to teach students, patients, and colleagues. The students who choose this program may be interested in patient education or in a career in an academic center working in medical education. They also may be interested in leadership positions at the national level that interface with health policy and education. Education will be a large part of prevention in future medical practice.

Admission

Students apply to the M.D. and M.Ed. programs separately and must be accepted by both programs to pursue the joint degree. Ideally, students will apply for joint degree status prior to enrolling in either program. However, medical students may elect to apply for admission to the joint degree program at any time during their first three years in the School of Medicine. Peabody students may apply for admission to the M.D. program during their first year in a master's program.

Structure

Joint degree students complete both degrees in five years, saving one year in school, as medical school ordinarily takes four years and the Peabody program two years. The structure of the schedule is shown below:

M.D./M.Ed. Schedule

Double Counting of Credits

Peabody grants 12 hours of credit toward the M.Ed. degree for approved coursework completed in the School of Medicine. The School of Medicine in turn grants two units of medical school credit toward the M.D. degree for approved Peabody College courseÂwork. It is this double counting of credits that permits students to complete both degrees in five years.

Tuition

Tuition rates and financial aid arrangements are determined by the school in which students are enrolled in a particular semester. Students in the joint program spend three semesters in Peabody College and seven semesters in the School of Medicine. Students work with the Financial Aid Office of the school in which they are enrolled in each semester.

Education Curriculum

Students have the opportunity to define an area of interest for the M.Ed. degree. Potential areas of study include, but are not limited to, Community Development Action; Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education; Human Development Counseling; Human Resource Development; Institutional Advancement; Organizational Leadership; Secondary Education; and Special Education.

Within the area of interest, the Peabody Coordinator of the joint program works individually with students in the program as well as with the relevant departments to develop a curriculum tailored to students' specific needs. Given that the heart of any graduate training is its scholarly basis, one or more of the courses are chosen to immerse students in the methods used to generate that knowledge.

In some cases, these are traditional statistics and research methods courses, but in others it may be most appropriate for students to take a course in policy analysis, qualitative methods, or even an independent study working as part of a research team.

In all of these cases, the Program Coordinator and the student, in consultation with the Directors of Graduate Study of relevant departments, will outline a set of courses (with electives to ensure flexibility) that will lead to the awarding of the M.Ed. degree.