Johns Hopkins is proud of its huge impact on the history — and future — of science, but the truth is that we are relatively intimate in size compared to other research institutions. This means that while we are large enough to provide opportunities for stimulating consultation in virtually every area of intellectual curiosity, there is easy interchange among university departments and divisions. In addition to studying and working with the leading lights of scientific inquiry on a daily basis, our students and trainees have access to a wide variety of regularly scheduled speakers and events. They include Partnering Toward Discovery, an ongoing series that brings together the perspectives of bench and bedside, with Ph.D. and M.D. students connecting over a shared sense of purpose.

The vice dean’s office oversees all of the educational programs at the school of medicine, including those for medical students, residents and clinical fellows, graduate students, postdoctoral research fellows, and other learners at the school of medicine. Find out more about school of medicine leadership.

Letter From The Associate Dean

Peter Espenshade, Ph.D.
Associate Dean, Graduate Biomedical Education

Welcome to the homepage of the Graduate Programs at Johns Hopkins Medical School. Our school, together with the Bloomberg School of Public Health, the School of Nursing and the Johns Hopkins Hospital, comprise the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions (JHMI). These four world-class institutions bring extraordinary depth and variety to graduate research opportunities and establish a graduate medical environment that includes nearly 1,500 pursuing the Ph.D. degree and almost 500 studying for the M.D. degree. The research facilities here are first-rate, but we place higher value on the collaborations and working partnerships that form among students and faculty at JHMI. You will be surprised at how often these occur and in what unexpected directions they lead.

The Office of Graduate Biomedical Education (OGBE) was established in 1994 to advise graduate students and to help insure uniform treatment of students throughout the institution. As is necessary, we also provide assistance to the Graduate Programs in managing problems that might arise in the training of students and to develop policies regarding important student issues. The OGBE also manages the Ph.D. application for the graduate programs, coordinates disability services for Ph.D. students and provides support for graduate student groups.

Our Professional Development and Career Office (PDCO) offers students and postdoctoral fellows concrete advice on academic and non-academic career tracks and organizes visits to the campus by a number of large firms in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. The PDCO also gives courses and seminars on skills not normally a part of a formal graduate education, such as grant writing, resume construction, interviewing skills, lecturing techniques and so on. The goal of the PDCO is to make sure our students are equipped to deal with professional life after graduate school, no matter the career path.

We have an active Graduate Student Association (GSA) that publishes a newsletter, meets monthly and sponsors scientific lectures and social events. The GSA provides a voice for the graduate students on various issues that arise at the university and in the world-at-large.

The OGBE also coordinates an annual Summer Internship Program (SIP) that brings about 60 talented students to our East Baltimore campus, where they spend 10 weeks during the summer engaged in research in one of our clinical, public health or basic science laboratories, while living at the the Homewood Campus along with students in other summer programs. Seminars, journal clubs and presentations by visiting scientists are among the activities scheduled. The summer ends with a lively poster session and farewell dinner.