Grant Writing in the Sciences

The Grant Writing in the Sciences course aims to provide a basic primer on grant writing, including learning about available resources, strategies and approaches for developing grants, as well as developing skills in grant planning and preparation.

Intended audience

This course is intended for those who want or need to develop perspectives and learn about available resources and strategies for writing scientific grants. Understanding the process of writing a grant is valuable for a variety of career paths, such as a:

  • Researcher competing for grants.
  • Grant reviewer.
  • Co-worker to others who write grants.
  • Proposal writer for a nonprofit organization or company.

Curriculum

Course director

Mark E. Sherman, M.D.

Course outcomes

  • Identify different types of National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants and match projects to appropriate types.
  • Describe the general steps for preparing and submitting an NIH grant.
  • Explain how NIH grant applications are reviewed and scored.
  • Understand the purpose of the Specific Aims page and begin drafting a Specific Aims page.
  • Describe the role of preliminary data and the biosketch in an application.
  • Recognize the importance of scientific rigor and collaboration in grant success.
  • Consider approaches for resubmission based on critiques of unfunded applications.

Course outline

The Grant Writing in the Sciences online self-paced course is divided into four units:

  1. The Big Picture
    • Types of NIH Grants
    • Procedures for Preparing and Submitting an NIH Application
    • Resources and Approaches to Knowing Your Field
  2. Research Integrity and Review
    • How Grants are Scored
    • Scientific Rigor and Protection of Subjects
    • Developing a Budget for an NIH Grant
    • How to Complete the NIH Other Support
  3. Planning and Writing Specific Aims
    • Planning and Writing Specific Aims
    • Specific Aims Example: Basic/Translational Science
    • Specific Aims Example: Behavioral Science
  4. Optional Learning
    • Preliminary Data
    • The NIH Biosketch
    • Mentorship, Fellowship Applications and Team Science

Registration

Visit the Grant Writing Executive Education page to register for this course.

Mayo Clinic employees can visit our intranet site to find out about internal pricing. Users must be logged in to the Mayo Clinic network to access this intranet site.

Contact

Direct questions to the CCaTS Workforce Development team.