IU School of Medicine students can obtain both MD and PhD degrees within seven years in one of two ways. The Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) is a highly competitive program in which students take basic medical science courses for the first two years, leave medical school to complete graduate studies and dissertation in the next approximately three years, and return to complete medical school clinical rotations for the final two years. Admission to the Medical Scientist Training Program provides a stipend for the four years of medical school and three years of graduate research. Students who are not accepted into the Medical Scientist Training Program complete a separate graduate application in addition to a regular medical school application. Successful applicants complete an identical curriculum as Medical Scientist Training Program dual-degree students. Students on this path receive no financial support for the medical school portion of training, but the department selected for graduate study provides a stipend and tuition payment for graduate research.