Updated
MD-PhD Interview: MSTP Interview Days and Questions
An MD-PhD interview is longer than an MD interview, and most of it is about your research. Expect two days at many programs: the medical school's own interviews plus several talks with research faculty, often ones you pick. Most programs below interview virtually in 2026-27. Be ready to explain your project to someone outside your field and to say why you want both degrees.
How an MD-PhD interview is different
You are interviewed twice over: once as a future doctor and once as a future scientist. Case Western puts it plainly. “The MSTP interview process takes two days, and includes your School of Medicine (University Program) interview.” At WashU, “This 20-minute panel interview will focus on your research.” Its faculty interviews are “a discussion of your research and the research being carried out by your interviewer”. The MD interviews are the usual ones, covered in our medical school interview guide.
Interview days at eight MD-PhD programs
Eight programs that describe their interview day, read October 24, 2026. Each name links to our guide for that school's MD interview. Many also bring accepted students back in the spring, like a medical school second look.
| Program | Its MD-PhD admissions page says |
|---|---|
| WashUSept to Dec, virtual | Thursday orientation, then a Friday of interviews: a research panel, faculty you choose, two MD interviews and a wrap-up. Source |
| EinsteinThursday to Friday, virtual | Two formal interviews with the MSTP committee, plus faculty who share your interests. In-person revisit March 26, 2027. Source |
| Case WesternTwo days, virtual | MSTP committee members and mentors you pick, plus two medical school interviews. In-person revisit in spring 2027. Source |
| CU AnschutzSept 30 to Jan 14, virtual | Day one: medical school and MSTP interviews. Day two: a research flash talk to faculty and meetings with faculty you pick. Source |
| RochesterMid Sept to Jan, virtual | Two days, Thursday and Friday, by invitation. Accepted students are invited to an in-person visit in April. Source |
| Virginia2026-27, virtual | About 50 interviews a year, most before winter break. An in-person Second Look is planned for March. Source |
| EmoryThree two-day sessions | 2026-27 interview dates: October 29 to 30 and December 3 to 4, 2026, and January 21 to 22, 2027. Source |
| CincinnatiSecond visit in spring | Program talks, an asynchronous interview, faculty meetings and an admissions committee panel. Accepted students come back in spring. Source |
What research faculty ask
Faculty interviews feel like a conversation between scientists. They start from your project and keep asking until they reach the edge of what you know. These are the questions to prepare, with how to approach each. Our research and patient impact question page covers the clinical link in more depth.
Walk me through your project
The question, the approach and your part in it. Start broad, then let the interviewer pull you into the details they care about.
Why that approach, and what were your controls?
Name one alternative you considered and why you did not use it. Faculty are checking that you understood the design, not just ran it.
What went wrong, and what did you change?
Pick one real problem, how you found it and what you tried. Owning the troubleshooting shows how you will work in a PhD lab.
What would your next experiment be?
One concrete next step and what each possible result would tell you. This is where a strong applicant sounds like a scientist.
How could this work matter for patients?
Connect the result to a disease, a test or a treatment in plain words, without claiming more than the data shows.
What do you want to study here, and with whom?
Name two or three faculty whose work fits your interests and say why. WashU, Case Western and CU Anschutz let you pick faculty to meet.
What do you think of my research?
Read your interviewers' recent papers and bring one real question. At WashU the faculty interviews cover their research as well as yours.
How to explain your research
Give the short version first, in about two minutes, then let the interviewer choose where to go deeper. Five steps keep it in order.
- The question. One sentence someone outside your field could follow.
- Why it matters. The disease, patient group or gap in knowledge it bears on.
- Your role. What you designed, ran or analyzed yourself, separate from the lab's work.
- The result. What you found, including what did not work and what you changed.
- What is next. The next experiment, and the question you would want to chase in your PhD.
WashU says of its committee panel that “you should not prepare a talk or a presentation”, while CU Anschutz notes “The second interview day consists of research flash talks presented to current MSTP faculty”. Have both a two-minute spoken version and a short talk ready, and follow each invitation.
“Walk me through your research project as if I were not in your field.”
A strong answer states the question in one plain sentence, says what you did yourself and ends on what the result means and what you would test next.
Why MD-PhD, not MD or PhD alone
Every MD-PhD interviewer asks some version of this. NIGMS describes the MSTP goal as “to develop a pool of well-trained clinician-scientist leaders available to address the Nation's biomedical research needs”, and your answer should show you fit that picture. Build it from these parts.
Start with the kind of question you want to answer
A problem that needs both the clinic and the lab, in your own field of interest, not a general wish to help.
Show the experiences that led you there
One research moment and one clinical moment that pointed to the same question.
Why not the MD alone
You want research to be a main part of your career, and full PhD training is how you get there.
Why not the PhD alone
Caring for patients is where your questions come from, and you want to take results back to them.
Picture the career
Say how you see your time split between patients and the lab, and the kind of place you want to work.
Your AMCAS MD-PhD essays
MD-PhD applicants write two extra AMCAS essays. The MD-PhD Essay is limited to 3,000 characters, and the AAMC says “Use the MD-PhD Essay to state your reasons for pursuing the combined MD-PhD degree.” The Significant Research Experience Essay is limited to 10,000 characters and asks for “the nature of the problem you studied, and your contributions to the research effort”. Reread both before interview day so your spoken answers match what you wrote.
Not every applicant gets an MD-PhD interview. At Stanford, “If an applicant is not chosen for an MSTP interview, their file is automatically routed to the MD Admissions Committee for consideration.”
Sources: the 2027 AMCAS Applicant Guide (MD-PhD Essay, Significant Research Experience Essay), NIGMS MSTP and the MD-PhD pages of WashU, Einstein, Case Western, CU Anschutz, Rochester, Virginia, Emory, Cincinnati and Stanford. All checked October 24, 2026.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between an MSTP and an MD-PhD program?
An MSTP is an MD-PhD program supported by an NIH training grant from NIGMS. NIGMS says these grants offset the cost of trainees' stipends, tuition and fees. Both kinds of program interview you for the MD and the PhD.
How many interviews are there on an MD-PhD interview day?
More than for the MD. WashU lists a research panel, interviews with faculty you choose, two medical school interviews and a wrap-up. Einstein lists two formal committee interviews plus faculty who share your interests.
Are MD-PhD interviews virtual in 2026-27?
At most programs read for this guide, yes. WashU, Einstein, Case Western, CU Anschutz, Rochester and Virginia all interview virtually, and several bring accepted students to campus in the spring.
Should I prepare a research presentation?
Only if the program asks. WashU tells applicants not to prepare a talk for its committee panel. CU Anschutz has a research flash talk on day two. Read each invitation closely.
If I am not picked for MD-PhD, can I still get into the MD program?
Often, yes. Stanford sends your file to the MD committee if you are not chosen for an MSTP interview, and Rochester may consider you for MD-only after the interview.