Certificate Program in Clinical and Translational Science (CTS)

About the Program

The Certificate Program in Clinical and Translational Science (CTS) is designed to meet the needs of a variety of learners who are seeking exposure to clinical and translational research competencies but who are not interested in or ready for a master’s program.  The CTS Certificate Program, along with the Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences, Clinical Research concentration (MS-BIOM-CR), is an educational component of the UNM HSC Clinical and translational Science Center (CTSC).  The CTSC is a Health Sciences Center initiative to integrate and expand the reach of biomedical research from the laboratory to clinical and medical practice: promoting a bench to bedside to community effort.  Increasingly, pressing global health problems have led educators to accelerate the training of clinical, basic science, and translational researchers.  Therefore, this program will provide students the basic tools necessary to translate scientific discovery into actionable solutions.  

Qualifications

The CTS Certificate Program is open to students seeking a graduate degree in a basic science, public health, medical, clinical, engineering or social science discipline (MD, PhD, MS, PharmD, ScD and MPH).  Individuals that have already completed graduate training in these areas and are receiving additional training at UNM (i.e. post-doctoral and clinical fellows) or are currently employed at UNM as junior faculty are eligible to participate.  Admission standards include competitive standardized tests scores (i.e. MCAT, GRE) and strong academic records.  Additionally, preference will be given to applicants that exhibit ability to effect multi-modal communication with fellow learners, colleagues, instructors and other members of the health care and research communities.   Finally, the one year program schedule is intensive, so regular attendance and in-class participation is required. 

Program Requirements

To complete the CTS certificate program students must:

• Complete one credit (total of 12 credits) in each of the following courses: BIOM 564 Biomedical Informatics, BIOM 567 Biomedical Ethics; BIOM 556 Research Design, BIOM 562 Epidemiology, BIOM 557 Measurement; BIOM 565 Cultural Competence, BIOM 561 Patient Outcomes, BIOM 563 Research in Health Care Systems, BIOM 566 Grantsmanship; BIOM 560 Current and Emerging Technologies, BIOM 558 Study Implementation and Management, and BIOM 568  Seminar in Clinical and Translational Research.

• Complete three credits (total of 3 credits) in BIOM 559 Biostatistics.

• In addition to the required courses, if a student is enrolled in a graduate program, at least one faculty member from the MSCR Faculty list must be on a student’s graduate degree committee, and any thesis or dissertation must contain a significant clinical and translational science component (e.g., one specific aim).

Curriculum

The entire program is based on the attainment of competencies.  In the CTS Certificate Program, with the exception of biostatistics (BIOM 559), the courses will address “level 1” competencies, or the basic language and understanding of the particular domain, in the 12 domains considered essential for clinical and translational research, which are:

• BIOM 556: Research Design
• BIOM 557: Measurement
• BIOM 558: Study Implementation and Project management
• BIOM 559: Biostatistics
• BIOM 560: Current and Emerging technologies
• BIOM 561: Patient Outcomes Research
• BIOM 562: Epidemiology
• BIOM 563: Conducting Research within Healthcare Systems
• BIOM 564: Biomedical Informatics
• BIOM 565: Cultural Competence
• BIOM 566: Grantsmanship
• BIOM 567: Ethics and Regulatory Compliance

For biostatistics, the learners will attain levels 1 and 2 competencies, which include specific data analysis skills.  For degree-seeking students, the 14 credit hours required for the Certificate may be included in or may be in addition to the credit hours required for their graduate degrees, depending on the other requirements. Students should work with their advisors to determine the specific requirements for the certificate and the primary degree they are working towards.

 

Applications for the CTS Certificate Program are accepted once per year.

Application Deadline for the Fall Term:
April1

Applying to the program early is strongly encouraged. Only complete applications received by the deadline will be considered in the review sessions.

Please direct any admissions questions to the BREP Office at (505) 272-1887 or by email.

Admissions Requirements