Application Information

Eligibility

Students who are applying for admission to the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine are eligible to apply to the CSTP. We review applications as soon as the student is 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 candidates 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 formal clinical research training and 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 participating in other University of Pittsburgh year out programs, such as an NIH-funded T32 program, may apply to the Certificate or Master of Science program directly, with support of their program director; however, annual enrollment limits prioritize 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, 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 15.

Personal Statement: The 1-2 page personal statement should describe previous research experience and career goals. Specifically, please include:

  1. A description of prior research experience, with enhanced detail for prior clinical research experience, including how that 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, including the names of one or two potential federally-funded University of Pittsburgh investigators who you might want to meet with to discuss mentorship. (Note, to confirm whether an investigator has NIH funded, go here and search by PI name).

References: All students must provide the names of two references. These referees will be sent e-mails containing their username and password with which to access the online evaluation form. They will complete a standardized evaluation checklist and will be asked to upload a formal letter of recommendation. Referees must be people who have supervised your prior research.

Financial Information

All students admitted to the CSTP will receive a medical school tuition scholarship and a scholarship covering the tuition costs of the Certificate or Master of Science in clinical research. This scholarship recognizes students with exceptional promise and decreases debt burden so that students have the future flexibility to pursue academic careers.

Additionally, CSTP students receive a minimum stipend of $10,000 during the CSTP research year to help cover living expenses. Students may also apply for other stipend sources to cover living expenses during their research year, ranging from a University of Pittsburgh NIH-funded T32, an "administrative supplement" to their mentor's NIH-funded grants, the Doris Duke Foundation, Sarnoff Foundation, or Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Several other organizations provide research stipends, depending upon the students' research interests. Contact the CSTP Associate Program Director for more information. Note that receipt of one of these competitive stipends replaces, rather than augments, the minimum $10,000 CSTP stipend. 

Application

Fill out your application online, click here.