Admissions

How to Apply

All applications are submitted online centrally through the UNMC Office of Graduate Studies and the MSIA program. Applications to the Clinical & Translational Research Mentored Scholars Program are processed separately from the rest of graduate school applicants with only one submission period annually (last Friday in April.) Select the MSIA CTR sub-plan program in your application.

Application Requirements

The Clinical & Translational Research Mentored Scholars Program is administered through the Medical Sciences Interdepartmental Area (MSIA). The MSIA Graduate Program allows a student to pursue graduate education in the research area of an adviser in one of the participating departments leading to the Master of Science or Doctor of Philosophy degree.

Eligibility

1. The applicant must hold or will be holding a faculty or equivalent appointment at any Colleges at UNMC at the time of admission to the program. Junior faculty (MD or PhD) with a rank of Instructor or Assistant Professor shall be given preference.
2. The applicant must meet all admissions requirements set by the UNMC Graduate School.

Deadline: Last Friday of April annually. This means that all application materials must be received and posted in UniCAS by the deadline to be eligible for personal interviews scheduled during early to mid-May.

The applicant must submit application to the Office of Graduate Studies under Medical Sciences Interdepartmental Area CTR through UniCAS.

1. Official Transcripts: Transcripts are currently waived for applicants holding an MD (doctor of medicine) working at Nebraska Medicine. Applicants holding other advanced degrees such as a PhD will be required to provide transcripts if their degree was awarded by an institution other than UNMC.
2. Full Curriculum Vitae (CV)
3. Detailed Narrative (see section below)
4. Letter of Support: From their department chair, college dean or other institutional representative confirming the applicant will have the necessary protected time to pursue the educational and research requirements of the program. Minimum of 0.25 FTE of protected time is required.
5. Three (3) Letters of Recommendation: Recommendation from their dean, chair, or other director plus two additional recommendations. If a mentor has been identified, a letter from the mentor is ideal and should state the mentor’s willingness to work with the applicant and offer whatever resources they may have to pursue the area of research. The mentor should have a history of external research funding, the Scholar’s project should be independent of the mentor’s ongoing research, and in most cases would not be the applicant’s immediate supervisor unless strong justification is given (e.g. Division Chief, Chair, Director, Dean).
6. Mini Proposal: Prepare a three page mini proposal of your proposed research. Include: Specific Aims, Significance, Innovation, and Approach following NIH guidelines.

Narrative

Discussion points for the narrative: Specific points that need to be addressed in the applicant's narrative so we may better match your goals with what we offer in the program.

1. Describe briefly your motivation and commitment to finishing a graduate degree with a focus in Clinical and Translational Research.
2. Describe briefly your past experience(s) in clinical research and how your current position can benefit from obtaining graduate training in Clinical and Translational Research. Identify gaps in training or career development that will be addressed through further training.
3. Describe briefly your career goals in the next 5 years as it relates to obtaining a master’s or PhD degree in Clinical Translational Research.
4. Describe your primary research area of interest or the research area you would want to pursue and what part of Clinical and Translational Research training may be useful to enhance your research interest. If you have identified a mentor you would like to work with, describe the work you are or will be working on with your mentor. Include an NIH biosketch of the proposed primary mentor and a list of other potential investigators for mentoring.
5. Describe, when applicable, current funding or resources available to you from any sources that you can use to support your research project as part of obtaining a graduate degree.

Fees

Fees that may be applicable to Clinical & Translational Research Mentored Scholars Program students can be found on the Office of Financial Aid website. UNMC employees may be eligible for the Employee Scholarship found on Firefly. The employee scholarship covers UNMC tuition only. Employees are responsible for other student fees as applicable.