Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Clinical & Translational Education Program (CTEP)?

The Clinical & Translational Education Program was developed as the educational/training component of the Weill Cornell CTSC which was funded in September 2007 by the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR).

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What is the objective of the Clinical & Translational Education Program (CTEP)?

The principal objective of the Clinical & Translational Education Program (CTEP) is to develop a pipeline of highly trained Clinical & Translational researchers to facilitate the transfer of clinical research–from bench to bedside–into clinical practice. By providing training through didactic courses and a mentored research collaborative experience, the Program aims to build upon a foundation of basic skills necessary for clinical & translational research such as:

  • Development of research hypotheses and methods of hypothesis testing
  • Grant writing and manuscript preparation
  • Data collection, construction of databases, and data management systems
  • Computer programs for data analysis
  • Statistical analysis and the appropriate use of various statistical techniques in clinical research
  • Basic epidemiological principles in clinical research
  • Ethics and human subjects protection in the conduct of patient-oriented research
  • Laboratory requirements of clinical research; preparing protocols for the Human Rights Committee and other agencies;
  • Grants management and intellectual property
  • Application of general and specific state-of-the-art research tools and research techniques to clinical research project design

Training, nurturing, and developing future leaders in patient-oriented research are all essential to bolstering the number of qualified clinical researchers who will be able to ultimately impact the quality of clinical care.

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Who is eligible to apply to this program?

  • Medical students and Medical Doctors (MDs), MD/PhDs, senior residents, fellows
  • Post-doctoral PhDs seeking a career in clinical and translational research.
  • Dentists with Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS), Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) degrees
  • Faculty members from any of the partnering CTSC institutions (Cornell University, Ithaca; Cornell University Cooperative Extension; Hospital for Special Surgery; Hunter Center for Study of Gene Structure and Function; Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing; and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center)
  • PhD candidates in Nursing School, those with Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), and Doctorate of Science in Nursing (DNS) degrees
  • Certified Physicians’ Assistants and Clinical Research Project Coordinators.
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What are the immigration requirements?

You need to be a U.S. Citizen, Permanent Resident, or a Non-Citizen National. You may apply if you do not have a green card at the time of application, but you must have a green card by the time that you are admitted into the program.

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What are the components of the K30 application?

  • Application fee.
  • Proof of immigration status.
  • Career Statement describing area of Clinical & Translational research interest and career goals.
  • Official Academic transcripts from each post-secondary school attended.
  • Three (3) letters of recommendations from faculty involved in Candidate’s training or professionals who can speak to Candidate’s research experience. Please use the form provided.
  • If applying for the Track II, Master’s Degree, one of the three letters of recommendations must be submitted by a Department Chair supporting 80% protected time devoted to the mentored research project during the 2nd year of training.
  • For post-doctoral fellows, one of the three letters of recommendations must be submitted by the candidate’s supervisor stating that the candidate will be supported for the duration of the program study and given time for the candidate to attend classes.
  • If relevant, a copy of any scientific thesis or relevant publications from earlier training.
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What is the tuition for this program? Are there any potential sources of funding available?

This is a scholarship program and students are only responsible for activities fees and course-related materials (textbooks, software, etc.).

In addition, to ensure protected time, institutional resources and NIH training grant mechanisms may be available for qualified applicants: TL1 Pre-doctoral Clinical & Translational Researching Training Program and the KL2 Post-doctoral Career Scholars Honors Program. For additional information, please visit the CTEP Awards website.

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Are TOEFL scores required for admission?

TOEFL scores are required for those whose native language is not English.

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Are both GRE and MCAT scores required?

MCAT scores are required if you are an M.D. If you are a graduate student, GRE scores may be submitted instead.

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How long does the Graduate Program in Clinical and Translational Investigation last?

The Master’s Degree in Clinical Investigation Program was designed for flexibility by offering two tracks to encourage participation in Clinical & Translational research at different levels.

  • Track I: a one-year program consisting of a core curriculum resulting in an Advanced Certificate in Clinical Investigation.
  • Track II: a two-year program consisting of a core curriculum, elective courses, and a mentored Clinical & Translational research project resulting in a Master of Science Degree in Clinical Investigation.
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When are classes held?

During the first year of the core curriculum, classes are scheduled for approximately 1 to 2 hours (between 4:00 – 6:30 PM) Mondays through Fridays.

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Who are the Course Directors?

Course Directors are from diverse backgrounds and their specialties range from epidemiology, public health, to pharmacology, genetics, and ethics. Please refer to the CTEP list of faculty for further information.

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Can I audit courses from the Master’s Program?

Class size is limited therefore written permission from the Program Office is required. To inquire about auditing options, please email CTSC_K30@med.cornell.edu.

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Does the Program allow credit transfers?

In limited and special circumstances, the Program may accept transfer credits from other institutions. Written approval is required prior to admissions. To inquire please send a letter of request with a(n) official academic transcript(s) along with the corresponding course descriptions to the Program Office.

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Can medical doctors who were trained aboard or are from outside the U.S. apply to this program?

Yes, all are welcome to apply as long as the Candidate meets immigration eligibility requirements. (Please refer to previous questions, “what are the eligibility requirements?” and “what are the immigration requirements?”).

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If I apply for the Certificate in Clinical Investigation (Track I), can I then, at a later time, request a transfer into the Master’s Degree Program (Track II)?

Yes, you may apply to Track I first, and at later time, request a transfer to Track II. You will need to submit the following documentation to formally request a transfer:

  • Cover letter addressed to the Program Director stating reason for continuing onto Track II.
  • Recommendation and commitment letters from 2 mentors whom you will work with on this project.
  • Letter from your Division Chief stating that you will be guaranteed 80% protected time for your mentored research project.
  • 1-page description of the clinical research project you plan to conduct if accepted into the Master’s Track (including a description of the research topic and data source).
  • How and when you plan to complete each research milestone (see attached milestones guideline), along with the names of your proposed faculty experts who will evaluate your Master’s Thesis.
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What are the requirements for successful completion of the Advanced Certificate Program?

You will obtain a Certificate of Clinical Investigation after successful completion of the following core courses:

  • Bioinformatics Workshop
  • Clinical Trials Design and Analysis
  • Data Management for Clinical Research
  • Foundations of Clinical Research
  • Foundations of Epidemiology
  • Grant Writing and Scientific Journalism
  • Hypothesis & Protocol Design of Clinical Research Studies
  • Introduction to Biostatistics in Clinical Research
  • Molecular Biology and Genetics in Clinical Research
  • Principles of Clinical Pharmacology
  • Tri-Institutional Responsible Conduct of Research
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What are the requirements for successful completion of the Master’s (DegreeTrack II) in Clinical Investigation?

  • Completion of didactic training (Core and Elective Courses)
  • 75% or higher rate of attendance to all core and elective courses
  • Satisfactory performance on written examinations in core and elective courses
  • 75% time and effort devoted to performing and completing a mentored clinical & translational research project
  • A grant submission to the NIH or other funding agency requiring peer-reviewed funding with the trainee as the Principal Investigator, or an article submitted to a high-quality, peer-reviewed, scientific journal
  • Presentation of mentored research project at the annual research symposium, grand rounds, or a national or international conference
  • Thesis successfully defended at the Master’s Examining Committee (MEC).
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What career opportunities are available once I have a Master of Science in Clinical Investigation?

One of the Program’s objectives is to provide the skills, knowledge, and experience needed to apply for funding grants as an independent researcher to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) or other funding agencies (R21, R01, K23, or other NIH funding mechanism). While there is no one particular career path taken upon graduation, rather, students have a wide spectrum of career opportunities, some go on to become independent researchers, others become faculty members, and there are those who simply benefit from boosting their clinical and translational research expertise in their current field/profession.

Please visit http://grants1.nih.gov/training/ for information about research training and research career opportunities available through the NIH and http://www.ncrr.nih.gov/about_us/job_opportunities/ for information about job opportunities from the National Center for Research Resources.

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