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Does Abdul El-Sayed have a medical degree from Columbia?

Matches stated record claim. Columbia says he holds a medical degree from its College of Physicians and Surgeons; a degree is not a license to practice, which this does not check.

Abdul El-Sayed

His medical degree

Matches stated record claim

What they say

In the October 8 WOOD TV8 debate, El-Sayed called himself a doctor and said he has a medical degree from Columbia University.

What the record shows ·

In a 2015 article on Detroit choosing him as its health director, Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health, where he was an assistant professor of epidemiology, wrote that he "holds a medical degree from Columbia's College of Physicians and Surgeons" and a DPhil from Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar.

Limit: This is Columbia's own account, not a copy of the diploma. A medical degree is not a license to practice medicine, and this card does not check one.

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  1. WOOD TV8 debate, October 8: El-Sayed's openinghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHvWDkko23U&t=153s

    WOOD TV8 · Published Oct 8, 2026 · Reviewed Oct 10, 2026

    2:33. Paraphrased from YouTube's captions of the station's video; no second transcript was found to confirm the exact words.

    candidate statement

    For: Does Abdul El-Sayed have a medical degree from Columbia?

  2. WOOD TV8 debate, October 8: El-Sayed on his medical degreehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHvWDkko23U&t=388s

    WOOD TV8 · Published Oct 8, 2026 · Reviewed Oct 10, 2026

    6:28. Paraphrased from YouTube's captions of the station's video; no second transcript was found to confirm the exact words.

    candidate statement

    For: Does Abdul El-Sayed have a medical degree from Columbia?

  3. Mailman's El-Sayed Takes Health Reins in Detroithttps://www.publichealth.columbia.edu/news/mailmans-el-sayed-takes-health-reins-detroit

    Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health · Published Sep 10, 2015 · Reviewed Oct 10, 2026

    Columbia's own announcement that Detroit had hired him. It says he holds a medical degree from Columbia's College of Physicians and Surgeons.

    official office record

    For: Does Abdul El-Sayed have a medical degree from Columbia?