The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Oxford-Cambridge Scholars Program is a highly individualized and accelerated doctoral training program for outstanding students committed to biomedical research careers. NIH Oxford-Cambridge (OxCam) students partner with two Investigators - one at the NIH and another at the University of Oxford or University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom - to perform a single, collaborative dissertation project. Since the program is based on the British system, OxCam Scholars perform doctoral research without required formal courses other than those students choose to take in relationship to their own scientific interests. As a result, OxCam students are able to complete the doctoral degree in approximately four years. Students are enrolled at Oxford or Cambridge as well as appointed as a predoctoral IRTA throughout their time in the program. Students divide the time evenly between the two laboratories, with two years in the NIH laboratory and two years in the UK laboratory.
Students interested in pursuing a career as a physician-scientist may pair the NIH OxCam Program with a U.S. medical school or Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) via the NIH MD/PhD Partnership Training Program. NIH MD/PhD Program students partner with the medical school for the M.D. phase of training, and participate in the OxCam Program for the PhD phase of training. Funding for the medical school portion of the MD/PhD Program is provided through extramural MSTP funding from the participating medical school.
Investigators interested in mentoring an OxCam PhD or MD/PhD Scholar are encouraged to advertise a research project on the OxCam Research Opportunities webpage. Prospective students often review this information as they search for research mentors and/or collaborators. Also, it is not uncommon for Investigators to receive requests for an informational interview, as applicants are strongly encouraged to contact potential mentors throughout the application and admission cycle.
Additional information is provided in the OxCam Program online booklet. Investigators interested in learning more about the program may contact the NIH OxCam Office at oxcam@od.nih.gov.