Students in the UC Davis M.D./Ph.D. program are enrolled in the M.D. curriculum of the School of Medicine and a Ph.D. program of the Graduate Division. Upon completion of studies, students receive both degrees.
The Physician Scientist Training Program has formed a close liaison with many of the graduate groups on the Davis campus that traditionally offer training for Ph.D. degrees to facilitate coordination of the two programs and to provide an optimal academic experience for students in the M.D./Ph.D. program.

The M.D. program at UC Davis extends for four years. The first two years, which are largely preclinical, start in the fall of the entering year and proceed for seven quarters until June of the second year. During this period students complete 125.5 credit units of required courses covering basic sciences, preclinical sciences, social sciences and initial physical diagnosis skills. At the end of the second year, students take step I of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE). Clinical training begins in the third year with 48 weeks of required clerkships in medicine, surgery, pediatrics, primary care, psychiatry and obstetrics and gynecology (eight weeks each). The fourth year includes required clerkships in physical medicine and rehabilitation (two weeks), neurology or neurosurgery (two weeks), emergency care (4 weeks), a course in the Responsibilities of Medical Practice (two weeks); and 22 weeks of selective clinical clerkships. There are 12 remaining weeks of the fourth year available for free time or elective studies.

The UC Davis dual degree program offers students considerable flexibility in coordinating their degree curricula. Combined course work that would meet the requirements of both the M.D. degree program and the Ph.D. degree program are targeted. School of Medicine course requirements can be waived if a student has undertaken equivalent course work, and, likewise requirements for the Ph.D. may be met by alternate courses. Each student works with a coordinating advisor for the Ph.D. and a member of the M.D./Ph.D. Advisory Committee  to establish an optimum individual program that meets requirements for both degrees.

Many approaches are possible to optimize completion of the dual degree program. Which one is most suitable depends upon the specific Ph.D. program selected and the individual student's background. Although there is a formal order of courses in the M.D. program, many alternative sequences are possible to optimize the Ph.D. program.

Our typical student begins with participation in the Summer Physician Scientist Training Program research laboratory rotations before matriculation in the first year of Medical School. Students have another rotation opportunity after the first year of Medical School. Most of our students will then complete the first two years of Medical School before entering in to the graduate school. Alternatively, some of our students take the first year of the M.D. program and extend the second year of the M.D. course work over two years, while simultaneously beginning Ph.D. course work. In most cases, students are required to complete their thesis defense before returning to the medical school for their clinical rotations. Graduation with both degrees normally takes seven to eight years.