Although not a program requirement, some students may wish to conduct an independent study to explore a certain research interest or subfield. A maximum of three credits may be awarded per Independent Study. Each independent study credit requires fifteen hours of face time with the Independent Study mentor and thirty hours of non-face time. Please note that while the total hours committed to the pursuit of the Independent Study may be sufficient for more than three credits or more than one elective, students will not receive any more than three credits for one project or course of study. Each student may complete no more than two independent study projects.
An independent study must be a unique experience. Material covered during an independent study project should be highly targeted and not simply a review of the regularly offered coursework. Independent study projects should not be attempts to take CLR courses that are offered routinely during the academic year at times that are more convenient for the student. Students should not expect independent study projects to exempt them from core course requirements without approval by the Program Leadership (MSCR) or PhD Oversight Committee member (PhDCR) in conjunction with the Program Director.
Steps towards formalizing an independent study are as follows:
Meet with the Program Director and the faculty sponsoring your independent study to discuss your plans at least six weeks prior to the start of the independent study
Complete the Independent Study Proposal form, which is available on Blackboard, and submit it to the Program Manager with the appropriate signatures at least 3 weeks before the start of the independent study
Before beginning your independent study, register for independent study credits through the registration system
Once approved, complete the project/course of study
Complete the Independent Study Postscript Report and submit to the Program Manager with appropriate signatures no later than 3 weeks after your project has been completed
Request that your faculty sponsor complete the Independent Study Faculty Sponsor form and submit it to the Program Manager no later than three weeks after you complete the study
Review the Postscript Report and Evaluation with your faculty sponsor
Complete the Independent Study Student Evaluation of Faculty form no later than three weeks after the study has been completed.
Note that all required independent study forms are available in the “Forms” folder on the CLR Blackboard site.
The requirement by the NIH for investigators to have "face-to-face" training in Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) can currently be met by completing the following core courses. These courses are part of the MSCR and PhD curriculum and utilize case-based discussions which is strongly encouraged by the NIH. The courses should be taken in the appropriate sequence as outlined in the degree program checklists:
CLR0016 – Spectrum of Methods in Clinical Research II
CLR0017, CLR0018, and CLR0019 – Clinical and Translational Research Journal Club and Seminar series
CLR0700 – Professionalism and Ethical Issues in Clinical Research
These courses also include curricular material relevant to rigor and reproducibility. Please note that if you are NIH funded, or plan to be, you are required to complete the GSBS RCR training, an 8 hour course directed by Matthew O’Connell, PhD, Senior Associate Dean for PhD Programs. This course is offered twice a year. For specific dates of this course offering please contact the Clinical Research Education Program Manager.
There are different curricular requirements and opportunities for CRTP, MSCR, and PhD students. They include:
The PhDCR program requires a total of 66 credits (37-41 credits of coursework, and 25-30 credits of Doctoral Thesis), to be taken over the course of five years. All students take the same courses in year one, and declare a specialization, or track, at the end of the first year. The second year is spent completing track-specific coursework, as well as a full year of Integrative Problem Solving in Clinical and Translational Research, a full-year course that is designed to prepare doctoral students for the comprehensive qualifying exam at the end of year two. Students should refer to the Clinical Research Education Program’s Blackboard page to review the PhDCR course checklists for their selected track.
PhDCR required coursework is as follows:
BIO6400 Biostatistics for Biomedical Research (Fall)
CLR0006 Spectrum of Methods in Clinical Research I (Fall)
CLR0501 Computational Tools for Clinical Research (Fall)
MPH0812 Applied Linear Models I (Spring I)
CLR0016 Spectrum of Methods in Clinical Research II (Spring I)
CLR0700 Professionalism & Ethical Issues in Clinical Research (Spring I)
MPH0822 Applied Linear Models II (Spring II)
CLR0007 Spectrum of Methods in Clinical Research III (Spring II)
CLR0011 Grant Writing (Spring II)
Coursework as defined by the student’s selected track
CLR0017, CLR0018 & CLR0019 Clinical and Translational Research Journal Club and Seminar Series I-III
CLR0012, CLR0014 and & CLR0015: Integrative Problem Solving in Clinical and Translational Research I-III
The written comprehensive qualifying examination will take place in June of year two. The exam includes five pre-selected questions provided at the time of the examination. Students must register for, attend and successfully complete the “Integrative Problem Solving in Clinical and Translational Research” sequence (CLR0012, CLR0014 & CLR0015) during their second year, prior to taking the exam. Students must submit a Written Comprehensive Qualifying Exam Registration form to the CLR Program Manager by May 31 of year two. The Course Director of the Integrative Problem Solving sequence must sign the form indicating whether the student is ready to take the exam or not. Each CLR Core Faculty Member who has developed a question for the Qualifying Examination will be responsible for grading that individual question. Following the grading of each question by the authoring faculty member, the faculty who contributed to the exam will meet to review the scores and make any final revisions to the assessment, after additional deliberation and discussion. This process is meant to assure fairness and objectivity on the part of all faculty in grading the exam. The exam is worth a total of 100 points and students must score a total of 65 points or higher in order to pass. Students will only be permitted to retake the qualifying exam once, in January of the following year. Students who fail the exam twice will be dismissed from the program. This policy is consistent with the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences policy.
Following the exam, students will be informed in writing of their result, and will also have the opportunity to review their exams in person. Furthermore, all students will have the opportunity to review their answers with each respective faculty member, if helpful or desired on the part of the student. Students will not be permitted to keep a copy of their exam. A copy of their exam will remain as part of their file, which they may access at any time.
After passing the Written Comprehensive Qualifying Exam, students must register for 25-30 credits of CLR0020 Doctoral Thesis, depending on the requirements of their track. See Section Seven for additional information on dissertation requirements.
The CRTP curriculum requires students to take a total of 26 credits throughout the Fall, Spring I and Spring II terms. Students should refer to the Clinical Research Education Program’s Blackboard page to review the CRTP course checklist for the year in which they matriculated. All courses must be completed in the sequence in which they appear on the checklist.
The MSCR program requires a total of 38 credits (32-33 credits of coursework, and 5-6 Master’s Thesis Credits), to be taken over the course of two years. MSCR students are expected to complete 24-27 credits of coursework in the first year. In the second year, students take the remainder of their required coursework and complete the Master’s Thesis (CLR0001), for which they earn 5-6 credits.
MSCR students may choose one of three designated courses (CRL0610, CLR0301 or CLR0008) to fulfill the elective degree requirement. Any exceptions must be reviewed by the program directors. Students should refer to the Clinical Research Education Program’s Blackboard page to review the MSCR course checklist for the year in which they matriculated. All courses must be completed in the sequence in which they appear on the checklist.
Students are permitted to take any course listed in the CLR curriculum guide as an elective. Only courses listed in the curriculum guide are approved for CLR credit. Students must request approval from the Program Director prior to registering for a course outside of the CLR curriculum but within the Graduate School at ISMMS.
If a student wishes to take an elective course offered at a different institution, the student must submit a course description and a syllabus from the institution offering the elective course, together with a completed Elective Approval form to the Program Manager. Approval must be given by the Program Director prior to enrolling in the course. Please note that CLR students approved to take courses at CUNY or Cooper Union are responsible for paying the tuition and fees associated with those classes.
Upon completion of the elective course, the student should complete the Evaluation Form for Transfer of Credit and submit it to the Program Manager along with an official transcript from the institution where the course was taken. The form and transcript must be submitted in order for the elective to appear on a student’s CLR transcript. Note that all required elective approval forms are available in the “Forms” folder on the CLR Blackboard site.