Postdoctoral Scientists Certificate Program

The Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS) offers certificate credit for postdoctoral scientists at UTMB. The certificates and the courses leading up to them carry credits that will be reported on transcripts available through the UTMB Office of the Registrar. The Provost requires all postdocs to be enrolled in the program as a condition of their postdoctoral appointments. Deadline for Spring 2013 applications is Saturday, December 1st.

Courses in the certificate program will provide training in core competencies, as well as specialized training that scientists require for professional success. Some courses offer credit for daily mentored research, attending departmental seminars and journal club meetings, and drafting a career development plan, none of which requires classroom attendance.

As of Fall 2012, five certificates are available. The core certificate is Critical Research Skills. Secondary certificates are available in focused career areas: Advanced [business] Management Skills, Teaching & Mentoring, Translational Research Management and Bioinformatics & Systems Biology. Each certificate requires 12 semester credit hours (SCH) and may be earned in a one-year (three-term) course of study. The certificates are structured for maximum flexibility, both for course sequencing and time management. Several courses are online and many others are offered at times that do not conflict with laboratory schedules, so that participants may give full attention to their learning.

Each certificate consists of one to three required courses, a series of prescribed electives, and a spectrum of specialized elective courses. To promote maximum flexibility and individual career preparation, elective courses may be applied to any of the first four certificates. In addition, a base course (Mentored Research, CTPS 6001) is available to all postdoctoral scholars. It consists of focused research and supervision in the postdoc’s area of concentration, allowing the postdoc to stay in the lab to work on experiments, manuscripts or both, in conjunction with the mentor.

Examples of Key Courses:

  • Ethics of Scientific Research (required once only) – MEHU 6101
  • Mentoring and Career Development for Postdoctoral Scientists (required annually, all certificates) – CTPS 6103
  • Practical Scientific Writing (recommended electives, all certificates) – CTPS 6104 – and Effective Presentation Skills – CTPS 6111
  • Advanced Business Management – CTPS 6302 – and College Teaching & Learning – CTPS 6301