Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences

Application Process

Student conducting research with a laptop

Requirements for Applicants

  • The South Texas Medical Scientist Training Program abides by the same prerequisite coursework and acceptance requirements as the Long School of Medicine. For more information, please visit their website.
  • Rigorous research experience is expected. 

How to Apply

To apply, it is required that you use the 

  • Select the “Combined M.D./Ph.D. program” at the “The Long School of Medicine at .” 
  • The AMCAS application is the only application that you need to complete in order to be considered for admissions into our M.D./Ph.D. program. The deadline is November 1st. We participate in AMCAS Letters service, and thus, there is no need to send additional letters of recommendation beyond those selected in AMCAS. 
  • Please note that if you want also to be considered for admissions into the M.D. program at UT School of Medicine San Antonio, you must submit a separate application using the  system prior to the M.D. program deadline of October 1. In this case, you should check the box that indicates that you also submitted an AMCAS M.D./Ph.D. application.
  • There is currently no secondary application. 
  • After submission of the AMCAS application, applicants may submit additional information of significance such as publications, presentations, awards, or the result of an additional MCAT score. These submissions should be emailed to the MSTP. 

How to be a Competitive Applicant 

  • The STX-MSTP seeks individuals who have demonstrated a passion for biomedical research. This passion must be described clearly in the M.D./Ph.D. essay portion of the application. 
  • Sustained inquiry and investigation within a biomedical laboratory for a minimum of one year is preferred.
  • Presentations and/or publications are not necessary but they improve the quality of an application. 
  • Some clinical shadowing experience is needed to develop an informed reflection that leads to the determination for pursuing a clinical degree. 
  • At least three letters of recommendation are recommended. LORs should express your potential as a physician scientist. Letters from research mentors (P.I.s) are most valuable.  
  • MD/PhD programs are very competitive requiring high academic standards.
  • Additional resources for the M.D./Ph.D. application can be found on the .

Application Review

The MSTP Admissions Committee, in conjunction with the Long School of Medicine Admissions Committee, will select applicants for interviews in early August. Applicants will be notified via email. In some cases, the M.D. program determines to invite an applicant that had not been reviewed yet or that was selected for the alternate pool for the M.D./Ph.D. In this particular case, please contact the Program Director to request an administrative review. Please keep in mind that the application reviewers cannot review applications until they have been verified by AMCAS, which might take as long as six weeks, whereas the M.D. program might review the TMDSAS application sooner. Failure to gain an invitation for interview or acceptance into the MSTP will not jeopardize a decision to invite for an interview or extend acceptance to the M.D. program of the Long School of Medicine.

Interviews

Applicants are invited for interviews on a rolling basis between August and December.  Our interviews are a combined effort with the Long School of Medicine and the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences in an intensive, two-day setting on a Thursday and Friday. Please see our Interview Process page for more details. 

Independent from the LSOM

If you are not invited for an interview, we are unable to consider you for acceptance into the STX-MSTP. This will not affect interviews with the M.D. program if you have already applied through TMDSAS; you may still receive an interview from and be admitted to the Long School of Medicine independently. This process is entirely through the Long School of Medicine and is no longer related to your M.D./Ph.D. application. If you are still interested in pursuing a career as a physician-scientist, the Long School of Medicine offers an  . This opportunity affords the student with some research experience during medical school.