Dual Degree Program in Medicine and Aerospace Engineering with Bioastronautics specialization (M.D.-M.S.)

Motivation

In 2019, NASA accepted the mandate to land the first woman and next man on the Moon within five years. These missions are a prelude to a human mission to Mars, the most complex technological feat our species has ever contemplated. Such missions will involve challenges that push humans to the extremes of their physiology, demanding spacecraft engineering and design beyond any current precedent in human spaceflight. To maintain human health and performance, the systems required for these missions will necessitate educating students with a multidisciplinary perspective who are prepared to become leaders in these fields.

The University of Colorado School of Medicine (SOM) and Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences on the Boulder campus have developed a dual degree program in Medicine and Aerospace Engineering with an emphasis in Bioastronautics that will award both MD and MS degrees after completion of a 5-year integrated curriculum. The interdisciplinary dual M.D.-M.S. degree program incorporates experts in medicine, engineering, spaceflight, education, analog simulation, and remote environment expedition support. The program aims to support clinical, educational, research, and design projects intended to serve the most extreme environments on and off Earth. The goal of this program is to educate the next generation of leaders in human spaceflight.

This is a first-of-its-kind program that will serve a growing need within the larger human spaceflight community for physicians with engineering backgrounds. We plan to create a cohort of students integrated into the space medicine community through a variety of opportunities including research, conferences, and mentorship. Students graduating from the program will be ideally positioned to, for example, pursue further training as physician flight surgeons, serve as medical officers for a human spaceflight company, or to conduct research or develop medical technologies required for long duration exploration missions. By earning combined degrees in medicine and engineering, students will have a unique perspective and greater capabilities to contribute to this rapidly advancing field.

For more information, see the following additional resources:

• Program description document
• Informational presentation video
  

Prospective students not currently enrolled at the University of Colorado School of Medicine first need to apply to the medical school via AMCAS. On the secondary application from the CU SOM, there will be an option to apply to the MD-MS Aerospace Engineering Dual Degree program. Select this option and complete the requested supplemental application. Interviews for the Dual Degree program may happen concurrently or after interviews for the SOM.

For students already enrolled at the CU SOM in the Classes of 2026 or 2027, information sessions and applications will take place in the fall 2023 semester.