This dual-degree program leads to the doctor of medicine degree from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey–New Jersey Medical School (UMDNJ-NJMS) and the doctor of philosophy degree from Rutgers–Newark. The program enables highly qualified students to complete the requirements for the two degrees within seven years.

Students in the program complete four years of study in the medical program at UMDNJ-NJMS and three years of graduate work in an accelerated program at Rutgers–Newark. This structure gives all M.D./Ph.D. students a unified, broadly based biomedical science curriculum while they are completing course requirements for the Ph.D. During the first two years, students take basic medical school courses at UMDNJ-NJMS, while the next three years involve coursework, research, and dissertation research at Rutgers–Newark. For their sixth and seventh years, students in the program return to UMDNJ-NJMS for clinical training. The resident institution provides each student with a salary and tuition remission for the entire seven years.