Education

Mayo Clinic is committed to advancing the science of medicine by training and mentoring the next generation of clinicians and scientists — the people who will lead the research and health care teams of tomorrow.

Clinical and translational science is focused on speeding the movement (translation) of scientific discoveries into effective, accessible medical treatments that improve health. Translation of biomedical discoveries depends on the availability of a highly skilled clinical research workforce.

Mayo Clinic's Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCaTS) offers education and career development programs that span the career spectrum, including predoctoral and postdoctoral programs, courses for allied health staff, and more. Investigators who have completed CCaTS education programs go on to make significant contributions to the understanding of health and the human body.

Education and career development opportunities offered by CCaTS include:

KL2 Mentored Career Development Program

  • Eligibility: Early-career clinicians and scientists employed by Mayo Clinic with a 1.0 FTE
  • Time commitment: Three years
  • Cost: Program funded by the National Institutes of Health and Mayo Clinic CCaTS
  • Benefits: Salary plus research and travel fund, up to program limits
  • Expectations: Completion of a clinical and translational science research project; 75% to 100% protected time
  • Outcomes: Ability to apply for extramural research grants as an independent investigator and lead a research team
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Ph.D. Program

  • Eligibility: Predoctoral students and clinical or research fellows
  • Time commitment: 66 credits completed over four to five years
  • Cost: Tuition covered by program
  • Benefits: Stipend plus travel fund; guaranteed internal fellowship; mentored research experience
  • Expectations: Completion of a thesis
  • Outcomes: Doctoral degree (Ph.D.) from Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
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M.D.-Ph.D. Program

  • Eligibility: Predoctoral students
  • Time commitment: Seven to eight years
  • Cost: Tuition covered by program
  • Benefits: Stipend plus travel fund; guaranteed internal fellowship
  • Expectations: Completion of a thesis
  • Outcomes: Medical degree (M.D.) from Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine; Doctoral degree (Ph.D.) from Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
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Postdoctoral Master's Degree Program

  • Eligibility: Any Mayo Clinic physician, scientist, fellow or resident with a doctoral degree in a discipline applicable to clinical research who plans to have a research career leading a research team
  • Time commitment: 45 credits completed over two years
  • Cost: Program fee of $12,000
  • Benefits: Mentored research experience
  • Expectations: Completion of a thesis resulting in two to three first-author manuscripts
  • Outcomes: Master of Science degree (M.S.) from Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
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M.D.-M.S. Program

  • Eligibility: Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine and University of Puerto Rico medical students
  • Time commitment: One year of coursework plus other milestones completed throughout medical school
  • Cost: Program fee is covered by award
  • Benefits: Stipend plus research fund; mentored research experience
  • Expectations: Completion of a thesis
  • Outcomes: Master of Science degree (M.S.) from Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
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Postdoctoral Certificate Program

  • Eligibility: Any Mayo Clinic physician, scientist, fellow or resident with a doctoral degree in a discipline applicable to clinical research who plans to participate on a research team
  • Time commitment: 13 credits completed over one year
  • Cost: Program fee of $6,000
  • Benefits: Mentored research experience
  • Expectations: First-author research manuscript submitted for publication
  • Outcomes: Certificate from Mayo Clinic Center for Clinical and Translational Science
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Medical Student Research Award

  • Eligibility: University of Puerto Rico medical students
  • Time commitment: Two months
  • Cost: Transportation to Rochester, Minnesota, and housing not provided
  • Benefits: Stipend plus research fund
  • Expectations: Design a research poster for presentation
  • Outcomes: Expanded knowledge of clinical and translational science; guidance from a senior investigator
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Essentials of Clinical and Translational Science (ECaTS)

  • Eligibility: All Mayo Clinic employees and the general public
  • Time commitment: Approximately 30 hours of asynchronous online learning completed over six months
  • Cost: $500
  • Benefits: Covers content assessed on the USMLE Step 1 exam under the competency of Practice-Based Learning and Improvement; aligns with ACGME Practice-Based Learning and Improvement competency (IV.A.5.b and IV.A.5.c)
  • Outcomes: Certificate of completion; understanding of clinical and translational science, basic terminology and methodological concepts in epidemiology from a clinical perspective, and basic statistical methods used in a variety of clinical study designs
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Fundamentals of Clinical and Translational Science (FunCaTS)

  • Eligibility: All Mayo Clinic employees and the general public
  • Time commitment: Approximately five hours of asynchronous online learning
  • Cost: Free
  • Benefits: Expanded knowledge in clinical and translational research
  • Outcomes: Certificate of completion; basic understanding of research language and processes
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Workforce Development

  • Eligibility: All research team members
  • Time commitment: Varied; classroom and online learning
  • Cost: Free
  • Benefits: Convenient and flexible education on research concepts and methods
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