Application Information

Eligibility

Only students who are applying for admission to the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine are eligible to apply to the CSTP. We review a student's CSTP application as soon as he or she is waitlisted or offered admission to the School of Medicine. The CSTP Admissions Committee favors applicants who have distinguished academic qualifications; a high level of interest in, commitment to, and aptitude for the pursuit of innovative clinical research in academic medicine; and strong recommendations from their previous faculty. Special consideration is given to applicants who have experience in clinical research and have been listed as an author of a scientific publication.

Currently enrolled medical students are no longer eligible to apply to the CSTP. Instead, University of Pittsburgh medical students who are interested in pursuing formal clinical research training and taking a year out for mentored clinical research are invited to apply to the University of Pittsburgh Doris Duke Clinical Research Fellowship Program (click here for more information). Additionally, University of Pittsburgh medical students who are participating in other University of Pittsburgh year out programs, such as an NIH-funded T32 program, may, with the support of their program director, apply directly to a program that leads to the Certificate or Master of Science in Clinical Research; however, annual enrollment limits give priority to fellows and faculty over medical students for admission (click here for more information).

Clinical Scientist Training Program Application Process

All of your materials must be entered into the CSTP application form at the bottom of this page. Application materials include demographic and administrative data, answers to two short essay questions, a personal statement, a curriculum vitae, and two letters of recommendation. The deadline for receipt of all application materials is February 1.

Personal Statement: The personal statement should be limited to 1-2 pages and should describe your research experience and career goals. Specifically, it should include:

  1. A description of your research experience, with enhanced details about previous experience in clinical research and about how this experience has shaped your career goals.
  2. A description of your career goals (i.e., the specific type of job you hope to have when you finish your training).
  3. A description of the areas of clinical research in which you are currently interested, along with the names of one or two federally funded University of Pittsburgh investigators with whom you might want to meet to discuss potential mentorship. (Note: To confirm whether an investigator has federal funding, click here and search under the investigator's name.)

References: Please provide the names of two referees. The referees must be people who have supervised your previous research. We will send the referees an e-mail containing a username and password with which to access the online evaluation form. We will ask them to complete a standardized evaluation checklist and to upload a formal letter of recommendation.

Financial Information

The CSTP scholarship covers $25,000 per year towards medical school tuition in MS-I, MS-II, MS-III, and MS-IV and 100% of the Certificate or Master of Science tuition the research year (between MS-III and MS-IV); additionally, students are guaranteed a minimum of $10,000 is living stipend during the research year. This scholarship recognizes students with exceptional promise and decreases their debt burden so they have the flexibility to pursue academic careers in the future.

Additionally, students who are admitted to the CSTP will receive a minimum stipend of $10,000 during the CSTP research year to help cover living expenses. Students may also apply to other sources to cover living expenses during their research year. A few examples of sources include a University of Pittsburgh NIH-funded T32, an "administrative supplement" to the mentor's NIH-funded grant, and fellowships from the Doris Duke Foundation, Sarnoff Foundation, or Howard Hughes Medical Institute. For more information, contact the associate director of the CSTP. Note that receipt of one of these competitive stipends will replace, rather than augment, the minimum $10,000 CSTP stipend.

Application

To fill out your application online, click here.