EDUCATION & TRAINING » Non-Degree Clinical Research Training Programs

Clinical Research Certificate Program

The Clinical Research Certificate Program provides less intense training than a degree-granting program. The Certificate Program is designed primarily for School of Medicine residents, fellows, and faculty who seek careers as collaborative researchers. It is ideally suited for clinician-educator track faculty. The program also works well for clinical research project managers, those working in private industry, and others interested or currently working in careers in collaborative and clinical research support roles.

The amount of coursework required is much less than that for the Master of Science in Clinical Epidemiology (MSCE) and Master of Science in Translational Research (MTR) degrees and does not include the completion of a research project.

Requirements

A certificate is awarded to those who complete a series of core and elective courses, totaling a minimum of 3.0 course units. The required elements are:
  1. an introductory course in research methods/study design (the equivalent of 0.5 or more course units)
  2. an introductory course in biostatistics (the equivalent of 0.5 or more course units)
  3. a course covering practical applications of research, including protocol development, data collection, and compliance with federal guidelines and other regulations (the equivalent of 0.5 or more course units)
  4. a course that includes material covering aspects of scientific and ethical research conduct
  5. completion of the School of Medicine’s web-based Research Ethics, CITI Protection of Human Subjects, and HIPAA programs, all of which are accessible through Knowledge Link; or completion of similar programs at CHOP, including Protection of Human Research Subjects and HIPAA for Research, both of which are web-based and contained within one CITI course, and Responsible Conduct of Research at CHOP, which is a workshop conducted three times per year.
Each of the elements identified above (1 through 5) must be satisfied for participants to be eligible to receive a certificate. At least four courses are required. Each course taken may count for only one of the elements 1 through 3, although a course may be counted for element 4 plus one other. Each course covering elements 1 through 3 must have a course unit or equivalent value of at least 0.5 course units. The minimum total of course units required is 3.0. No course units are awarded for the completion of the web-based programs (5).

All courses must be taken at the University of Pennsylvania. Certificate Program participants are encouraged to take courses offered through the CCEB's MSCE and PhD degree programs, courses offered through the Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics' MTR degree program, and courses available through the CCEB's non-degree clinical research training program, but courses offered through other programs also may be eligible. View suggested pathways and listings of courses that satisfy each of the elements 1 through 4.

The Clinical Research Certificate Program Committee, composed of faculty within the CCEB and ITMAT, is responsible for the review and approval of all courses taken in order to fulfill Certificate Program requirements. Ultimately, CCEB faculty are responsible for reviewing all transcripts to ensure that all requirements have been met and approving all certificates to be awarded.

For more information

For questions about the Clinical Research Certificate Program, please contact Tom Kelly (tkelly@cceb.med.upenn.edu). To register for courses, please go to the Epidemiology Course Registration page and follow the instructions. Please note that a PennKey and password are required in order to complete the registration request. Instructions are provided for first time registrants and individuals not currently affiliated with Penn.

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