Degree Requirements

a) Satisfactory completion of the Clinical Research Curriculum courses (a two-year curriculum composed of a weekly lecture series and homework exercises). In addition to the 9-12 credit hours for the Clinical Research Curriculum (see below), each student will be required to complete an additional 24-27 credit hours (including practica and a thesis) for a total of 36 credit hours.

b) Satisfactory completion of at least three of these practica (maximum of 4 credit hours):

Institutional Review Board
Clinical Research Center
Scientific Presentation
Scientific Writing

c) Satisfactory completion of a research thesis project or projects that collectively demonstrate competence in each of these areas:

To critically review clinical research literature

To postulate a sound new research question

To design a clinical research study to address this question using the most unbiased feasible design

To properly analyze clinical research data

To appropriately interpret clinical research findings

d) Effective fall 2004, an overall cumulative grade point average of 3.0 (B) is required.

e) Effective fall 2004, a GPA of 3.0 (B) must also be achieved for the core Clinical Research courses (the courses offered at the Medical School for the MS in Clinical Research Degree Program or courses deemed to be equivalent by the student’s advisers). (For students enrolled in the program before fall 2004, the B average requirement will apply only to courses completed after the change has taken effect.)

f) Effective spring 2005, students must be enrolled for at least 1 credit hour during the semester in which they complete the degree requirements.

g) Beginning with students admitted to the program in spring 2005, at least 3 thesis credit hours will be required. (A maximum of 6 thesis credit hours can be applied to the 36 credit hour requirement for the degree.)

Clinical Research Curriculum
Topics

Clinical Epidemiology
Clinical Trials
Seminars in Clinical Research
Use of Computers in Clinical Research
Scientific Writing
Biostatistics for Clinical Investigators
Literature Appraisal
Ethical Aspects of Clinical Research
Introduction to Translational Research
Clinical Research Design Workshop

Additional Coursework for
Master’s Degree

The curriculum for the Master’s Program consists of two tracks — a Patient-Based Clinical Research Track and a Translational Research Track. In either track, the specific courses (usually 4-5) chosen by an individual student will depend on his/her previous training and course work and current career goals. Most students in the Translational Research Track will take advanced courses in molecular biology and/or genetics; most students in the Patient-Based Clinical Research Track will take advanced courses in health care economics and health care policy and practice.

Required Advanced Courses for Master’s Program

Advanced Epidemiology
Advanced Biostatistics for Clinical Investigators

Elective Advanced Courses for Master’s Program

Evaluating Costs and Benefits in Clinical Research
Using Research to Inform Health Care Policy and Practice
Advanced Clinical Research Design
Developmental Biology
Molecular and Cellular Approaches to Human Genetics
Genetics and Human Disease
Eukaryotic Gene Expression
Cancer Biology

Transfer Students

A student may be given up to 18 hours of credit for formal coursework done previously in a comparable program. Students who transfer into the program must meet the same overall degree requirements as students who undergo all of their training at UT.

Petitioning for Course
Equivalency

A student who wishes to receive credit for courses taken outside the MS in Clinical Research Degree Program at UT may submit a Petition for Equivalency form (available in MSB 2.106). This includes the Clinical Research Curriculum courses as well as courses taken at other institutions that are similar in content to courses offered for the MS in Clinical Research Program. The student must complete the form and obtain the approval of his/her program adviser. For courses taken outside the UT Medical School, the student must supply the required documentation about course goals and requirements for approval of credit hours by the Curriculum Committee.

Advisory Committee

Each student in the program will work jointly with two different advisors—a program advisor/mentor who provides methodological expertise and a departmental advisor/mentor from his/her own basic or clinical science department or institution who provides expertise in the participant’s specific area of clinical research. For fellows and other trainees, the training program director will also serve as a member of the advisory committee. At the end of each semester, the student will be scheduled to meet with his/her advisory committee to review academic progress, course selection, and thesis development.

  UTHSC-H General .pdf