Combined-degree programs: a valuable alternative for motivated students who choose medicine early.

The author reviews the history and philosophy of combined-degree programs and summarizes research on the performances of students in these programs. He notes that about one-fifth of U.S. medical schools offer programs that integrate premedical and medical school studies and lead to the award of both an undergraduate and an M.D. degree in six to eight years. The students in these programs perform as well as students electing traditional programs, if not better. The author concludes that university-affiliated medical schools might well consider establishing combined-degree programs as a means of (1) achieving better integration of the premedical and medical curricula and (2) allowing greater access to combined-degree programs for students mature enough early on to select careers in medicine.