While MDs and PhD are both doctors, their training and day-to-day duties vary drastically. However, many college students may find themselves choosing between the two career paths. While both are advanced, specialized degrees, their career path, future job opportunities, and pay differ significantly. In this article, we will discuss what an MD and a PhD are, the differences and similarities in their training programs, which program is harder, the dual MD/PhD program, training length, salary, and more.
Quick Navigation Links + FAQs
- What is an MD?
- What is a PhD?
- PhD or MD - Which is harder?
- What are the differences between MD and PhD programs?
- PhD and MD average salaries
- Are PhDs called Doctors?
- What are MD/PhD programs?
- What is the lowest rank Doctor?
- Is a PA higher than an MD or a DO?
- Why choose PhD over MD?
- Training length difference between MD and PhD?
- Getting started in medicine
What is an MD?
An MD (Doctor of Medicine) is a medical degree earned by physicians for completing a four-year doctoral training program. In the United States, it is one of the two main types of medical degrees, the other being a DO (Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine). MDs are licensed medical doctors who work directly with patients in hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare settings.
Becoming an MD requires extensive education and training. After completing a four-year undergraduate degree, students attend four years of medical school, where they study two of those years studying basic sciences such as anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, and pathology, along with clinical medicine. Medical students also complete supervised rotations in different medical specialties to gain hands-on patient care experience in the last two years of their training.
After medical school, MDs must complete a residency program that provides advanced, specialty-specific training. Residencies provide a more focused exposure to a particular area of medicine, such as internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, psychiatry, etc. Residency typically lasts 3 to 7 years, depending on the field. After finishing training and passing board licensing exams, MDs are qualified to practice medicine independently and provide full medical care to patients.
What is a PhD?
A PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) is the highest academic degree awarded in a wide variety of fields, including science, engineering, humanities, and social sciences. It is a research-focused doctorate rather than a medical qualification, meaning it does not prepare someone to treat patients. Instead, it trains individuals to become experts in a specific area of knowledge.
The first step to becoming a PhD is to complete a bachelor's degree. Once this is achieved, students can apply to PhD programs. Depending on the field, the applicant selection process may be competitive. Once accepted into a program, PhD students typically begin with advanced coursework and training in research methods, statistics, and theory relevant to their field. After this early stage, they transition into independent research under the guidance of a faculty advisor. This phase is highly self-directed and involves identifying a research question, designing studies, and collecting and analyzing data.
Outside of coursework, a PhD also requires a dissertation, which is a substantial piece of original research that must be defended before a committee of experts. Completing a PhD usually takes about 5 to 7 years after a bachelor’s degree, though it can take longer depending on the complexity of the research. Graduates often pursue careers in academia, scientific research, industry, government, or policy, where they contribute new knowledge and expertise in their field.
PhD vs MD - which is harder?
Determining whether a PhD or an MD is harder depends on how you define difficulty. Getting into an MD program is generally more competitive, as medical schools often have lower acceptance rates. Successful matriculation requires strong grades, extensive clinical experience, and high scores on standardized exams. Medical school itself is structured and very intensive, with students expected to learn a vast amount of information in a short period. In contrast, PhD admissions focus heavily on research experience, academic potential, and fit with faculty mentors. While admission standards vary by field, the challenge of a PhD often lies less in coursework and more in demonstrating the ability to conduct original, independent research.
The length and nature of training also differ. Both require a Bachelor's degree, which commonly takes 4 years to complete. An MD program typically takes four years, followed by a residency lasting three to seven years, depending on the specialty, resulting in a total training period of seven to eleven years after college. A PhD program usually takes four to seven years, though some students take longer to complete their dissertation research.
Medical training is demanding because of its rigorous class work, long clinical hours, and responsibility for patient care. PhD training is challenging in a different way, requiring students to solve unanswered questions, cope with uncertainty, and produce new knowledge through original research.
What are the Key Differences Between PhD programs and MD medicine programs?
First and foremost, PhD and MD programs differ in their overall purpose. An MD program is designed to train physicians to diagnose, treat, and manage patient health conditions. The focus is clinical, meaning students learn how to apply medical science directly to patient care in hospitals and clinics. In contrast, a PhD program is research-focused and aims to train students to produce new knowledge in a specific academic field rather than provide clinical care.
The structure and training experiences are also very different. MD students complete 4 years of medical school, which includes 2 years of classroom learning followed by clinical rotations in various medical specialties. After that, they must enter residency training, which can last 3 to 7 additional years depending on the specialty, where they work long hours in supervised patient care. PhD students, on the other hand, complete less formal coursework and spend most of their time conducting independent research under a faculty advisor, culminating in a dissertation.
The workload and daily life also differ significantly. MD training is highly structured, fast-paced, and centered around patient responsibility, long clinical hours, and standardized exams. PhD training is less structured but often longer in uncertainty, requiring self-motivation, problem-solving, and persistence through research setbacks. While MDs ultimately practice medicine and treat patients, PhDs typically pursue careers in research, academia, teaching, industry, or government, where they focus on generating and applying new knowledge.
In a PhD program, students typically spend their first years taking advanced courses and learning research methods before transitioning to independent research under the guidance of a faculty advisor. Unlike medical school, PhD training is generally less structured and places greater emphasis on self-direction, critical thinking, and problem-solving. This often requires hours of work in a lab or on a research topic, all of which will be self-led. While a PhD program often takes five to seven years to complete, students are expected to conduct novel research, publish scholarly work, and write a dissertation that contributes new knowledge to their field. In summary, MD training prepares students for clinical practice and patient care, while PhD training prepares students for careers centered on research, teaching, and knowledge creation.
PhD vs MD - Salary
In general, MDs earn significantly higher salaries than PhDs, although income varies widely depending on specialty, experience, and location. Physicians who complete medical school and residency often earn six-figure salaries. Many primary care doctors earn between $200,000 and $300,000 per year, while specialists frequently earn $350,000 or more. Certain specialties, such as orthopedic surgery, cardiology, and dermatology, can command substantially higher compensation, with some physicians earning over one million dollars per year. However, MDs also spend many years in training, often graduate with significant educational debt, and work an increased number of hours per week.
PhD salaries are more variable as PhD graduates work in diverse fields, including academia, research, government, technology, consulting, and industry. University professors and academic researchers may earn anywhere from $70,000 to $150,000 annually, depending on rank and institution, while PhDs in high-demand fields such as computer science, engineering, biotechnology, and data science can earn salaries that rival or exceed those of some physicians. While MDs generally have the higher earning potential overall, a PhD can lead to a rewarding and well-compensated career, particularly in industry roles where specialized research expertise is highly valued. Additionally, their training path is significantly shorter than that of a physician.
Do people with PhD call themselves doctors?
Yes, people who earn a PhD are technically entitled to use the title “Doctor” as they have completed a doctoral-level degree. However, the title should only be used in universities, research institutions, and professional settings. In clinical or healthcare environments, PhD holders should avoid introducing themselves simply as “Doctor” to patients because it can create confusion about whether they are licensed physicians. In fact, in many states, misleading patients about credentials can be a crime. Instead, PhDs often clarify their role by identifying themselves as researchers, psychologists, or professors, or by stating that they hold a PhD rather than a medical degree.
Is there a dual MD/PhD Program?
Yes, there are dual MD/PhD programs, often called Medical Scientist Training Programs (MSTP) in the United States. These programs are designed for students who want to become both practicing physicians and scientific researchers. They combine the clinical training of an MD with the research training of a PhD, allowing graduates to work at the intersection of medicine and science, often in academic medicine or biomedical research.
MD/PhD programs are highly selective and typically take about 7 to 9 years to complete. Students usually spend the first two years in medical school coursework, then several years completing PhD research and a dissertation, followed by a return to clinical rotations and residency training. Graduates often pursue careers as physician-scientists, meaning they treat patients while also running research labs, developing new treatments, or studying diseases at a deeper scientific level.
What is the lowest rank Doctor?
The most junior doctor in a hospital is typically an intern. An intern is synonymous with a first-year resident, meaning the individual has just graduated from medical school and has begun their clinical training. Although interns are the lowest rank in the physician training hierarchy, they are not untrained and often have tight supervision. Interns provide patient care under the supervision of more experienced physicians (often called an attending) while gaining the hands-on clinical experience needed to practice independently.
Is a PA higher than an MD or a DO?
No, a Physician Assistant (PA) is not higher than an MD or DO. PAs typically complete a bachelor’s degree followed by a PA master’s program, resulting in about 6-7 years of education and clinical training in total. In contrast, MDs and DOs complete four years of undergraduate education, 4 years of medical school, and then an additional 3-7 years of residency training, totaling approximately 11-15 years of education and training. While PAs are highly skilled healthcare professionals, physicians (MDs and DOs) receive substantially more specialized training and have the highest level of medical education and clinical responsibility within the healthcare team.
Why choose PhD over MD?
A PhD may be the better choice for individuals who are passionate about research, discovery, and advancing knowledge in a specialized field. Rather than focusing on diagnosing and treating patients, PhD programs train students to investigate unanswered questions, conduct research, analyze data, and develop new theories, technologies, or solutions. PhDs will become a subject matter expert in their area of study. Many people pursue a PhD as they enjoy intellectual inquiry and want careers in academia, scientific research, industry, government, or policy.
Another reason to choose a PhD is that it offers opportunities to become an expert in a subject while contributing new knowledge through research. PhD graduates often work as professors, scientists, engineers, economists, or researchers and may spend their careers publishing studies, teaching students, leading research teams, or developing innovations. For someone who is more interested in discovery and scholarship than direct patient care, a PhD can be a more rewarding path than medical school.
What is the training length difference between MD and PhD?
An Doctor of Medicine program typically involves a total of 11 to 15 years of training after high school. This includes a 4-year undergraduate degree, 4 years of medical school, and a residency program lasting 3 to 7 years, depending on the specialty. During residency, physicians receive intensive, hands-on clinical training while working under supervision in hospitals, gradually taking on more responsibility for patient care.
A Doctor of Philosophy program usually takes 4 to 7 years after completing a bachelor’s degree, though some students take longer depending on their research progress. The training includes advanced coursework early on, followed by several years of independent research under a faculty advisor. The final requirement is a dissertation presenting original research, which must be defended before a committee.
When comparing the two, MD training is generally longer overall because of the required clinical residency after medical school, which adds several years of supervised practice before independent licensure. PhD programs are typically shorter in total years but can be more variable, since research timelines depend on experimental progress and dissertation completion.
Getting started in Medicine
Now that you know more about the difference between MD programs and PhD programs, you may want to learn more about the MD program available through a great medical school like the University of Medicine and Health Sciences, "UMHS". Here are a few links that you may find helpful:
Popular and related blog posts:
Callie Torres is a double board-certified physician, a freelance health and medical writer, as well as an author of many peer-reviewed medical articles.
