Which is a higher degree - MD or PhD?

Question

This question comes from a first year biology PhD student, so I am looking for some REAL insight here. I know a couple of the doctors do MD/PhD, but I am wondering if I were to compare an MD in medicine with a PhD in biology, what would be regarded as a "higher" degree? It's like comparing a bachelor's in economics with masters in political science, but I am looking for the kind of answer that says the former (econ) is a "lower" degree than the latter. Think of it this way - for an Neurosurgery MD person who is also going to end up with a Neuroscience PhD in the MD/PhD program he/she is in, what is the pre-requisite (for the other)?

Answer 1

Well, they really are very different kettles of fish.

I'm not entirely certain what you are asking, or where you are (for example MD is the basic medical degree in the US, but in the UK is a 2 year postgraduate research degree).

MD/PhD programs combine both the clinical training with a period of research, and the PhD component is taken before graduation from the medical degree.

I happen to be doing both - I did a BSc and then took my medical degree from scratch (rather than concurrently), worked a few years training as a neurologist and then started a PhD in molecular and cellular neuroscience.

Which is the "higher" degree? Technically a PhD is a postgraduate degree whereas a medical degree is an undergraduate degree.

However, the medical degree is clearly a clinical, vocational training program and PhD's are pure research degrees. For the combined / concurrent MD/PhD program the doctor in question would have had to have completed an equivalent of an undergraduate science degree first (not all medical degrees allow that level of specialisation). It is largely meaningless to compare the two though.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

The PhD is the higher degree. You can get a PhD in Medical science and other medicine related fields and they would be considered higher than the MD which is just the basic professional degree of the medical field. In other words, it is not the terminal degree in that field, whereas the PhD is considered the terminal degree in most any other field. However, you are comparing a research degree and a professional degree which really cannot be done with justice being done to either.

Answer 4

The degrees are basically equal. A biology PhD will probably know more about the actual science, but an MD will be able to help people in a more practical manner. Most major innovations come from PhDs, but a PhD isn't gonna' be able to give you an emergency appendectomy. In terms of prerequisites, one is not associated with the other.

Answer 5

In addition to the answer above me being totally correct, a friend of mine from college went on to a MD/PhD program.

The first year was med school stuff, followed by a compressed 3 year PhD (research) with med school stuff being finished after.

In other words, it was concurrent, 1 wasn't a prereq for the other. I would think, logically, that you'd be better off with the PhD stuff first (like his program) because it will potentially make some of the med school stuff easier, whereas medical knowledge probably won't help you nearly as much with the research component of a PhD.

Answer 6

Most US med schools will not even consider admitting foreign applicants. The only reasons to do a PhD/MD are if you plan to both practice medicine and teach it or practice and do original research. It's easily 20 years of college and training total. It's not something you'd do without a very clear plan for what you'll do with your life afterwards.

Answer 7

An MD is a doctorate degree in medicine. A PhD is a doctorate degree in another field, either related or unrelated to medicine.

Answer 8

I agree with the previous answers so I won't add to that. I'll just add on what my former boss (an MD/ PhD) used to say; "MD stands for mentally deficient".