The School of Medicine administers a two-year Master of Health Science (M.H.S.) degree program for applicants with a terminal professional degree in medical care or biomedical sciences from across the Yale community and outside partners. The two-year stand-alone degree program is often referred to as the “Professional” M.H.S. to distinguish it from the combined five-year M.D.-M.H.S. designed for medical students.

The goal of the Yale Master of Health Science Degree Program is to provide rigorous training for future independent investigators and future educational leaders. There is a critical need to develop outstanding clinician-scientists whose educational experiences and career goals position them to work in interdisciplinary teams and translate scientific and pedagogical discoveries into practical applications for public good. The M.H.S. is designed to address this need through a two-year program that sets intensive standards of coursework, research experiences, and mentorship.

In 2026, Yale School of Medicine will begin accepting applications for a new, full-time, one-year online M.H.S. degree program in medical artificial intelligence that will begin in July 2027.

Mission

The mission of the M.H.S. program is to prepare clinicians and scientists for academic research careers in clinical, translational, education, and informatics research and to foster the next generation of clinician-scientists through rigorous training, experiential learning, and mentorship.

Admissions

Admissions to the M.H.S. program are overseen by the M.H.S. program directors, composed of senior-level physician-scientist and clinician-educator faculty. Applicants must be able to commit a minimum of thirty-five percent FTE effort (medical education two-year program) and fifty percent FTE effort (other two-year programs) to participate in the M.H.S. program. 

Application Process

Applications for the next academic year open in September and are closed to further submission in March. The application is completed online and includes identification of the concentration being applied to; submission of a project title and research project plan; personal statement; and letters of support from the proposed mentored research thesis adviser and the applicant’s departmental chair, chief, or other supervisor with authority to confirm protected time (if they are YSM internal candidates) and tuition support. Proposed thesis committee members must be named, and at least the primary M.H.S. thesis committee member must hold a YSM appointment; for internal candidates, one committee member must be in a department or division external to the applicant. Applications are reviewed for acceptance by the M.H.S. program and concentration leadership. More information about the application process for the M.H.S. program can be found at https://medicine.yale.edu/edu/mhs-degree/how-to-apply. Inquiries should be directed to mhs@yale.edu.

Curriculum

There are four M.H.S. degree programs: clinical investigation; clinical informatics and data science; health services, policy, and outcomes; and medical education. 

The M.H.S. program follows a shared curriculum structure, with distinct program requirements (e.g., required courses, electives, presentations) tailored to fit the unique training needs of students during the two-year program.

Research

M.H.S. students are expected to undertake an intensive mentored research training experience that constitutes a major portion of their effort in the program. Required components of this research experience include:

• Development of a mentored research project to be conducted during the two-year program. The thesis project must be approved by the primary adviser, two additional thesis committee members, and the M.H.S. concentration leader.
• The thesis research culminates in a written thesis or at least one manuscript for publication in a peer-reviewed journal (specific requirements vary by concentration).
• Presentation of their research at one or more grand rounds or similar open-forum seminar each year.
• Completion of (at minimum) two meetings per year with the thesis committee to evaluate progress on the research project.

Graduation Requirements

• Biostatistics course
• Research Methods
• Ethics course
• Mentored research project
• Thesis requirement
• Concentration-specific requirements

Courses should equal thirty work credits, including all mandatory courses, electives, and mentored research.