Master of Science in Translational Research (MSTR) Admissions

Postdoctoral Applicants

• must have MD, PhD, MSN, VMD, or DMD level degree
• must enroll as full-time students and are not eligible to apply unless 80% of their time is protected
• must have a Primary Research Mentor and a Translational Research project based at Perelman School of Medicine and/or Children's Hospital of Philadelphia prior to application.

Predoctoral Applicants

•  must be enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania in the MD, DMD, VMD, Nursing, or Biomedical Science PhD programs.
• must have a Primary Research Mentor and a Translational Research project based at Perelman School of Medicine and/or Children's Hospital of Philadelphia prior to application.
• MD-MSTR applicants apply in fall of year 3 of the MD program.
• DMD-MSTR applicants apply in the fall of year 2 of the DMD program and follow the dental dual-degree application process.
• VMD-MSTR applicants follow the timeline for the PennVet OneHealth Program.

ITMAT Education Faculty and Administration are glad to connect with interested applicants throughout the year.  Through an initial consult, program faculty or staff can gain understanding to which program may best align with your career goals, connect to current students or faculty for additional insight, answer questions about the application process, and provide feedback on project proposals. 

Contact us and a member of the team will reach out to set a time to discuss your interests.

The Online MSTR Application  requires the following items.  

All documents will be uploaded in the Supporting Documents section of the application.  The headers below align to the name of the document upload.

Applicants, please add headers with your name to the applicable documents. 

• Curriculum Vitae
• Personal statement (one page)
  • Describe your career goals and what skills you need to reach those goals
  • Include a learning plan of the activities that will help you attain these skills
  • Predoctoral (MD, DMD, VMD) Students, please address the following:
    • What motivated you to pursue the MSTR program versus the other Master Degree programs or ‘year out’ research opportunities?
    • Why do you want to pursue formal research training during graduate school versus a later stage of training?
    • Why are you seeking formal training in Translational Research?

• Research plan: 2-3 page description of proposed research project
  *Entrepreneurial track: project should emphasize innovation with the potential to commercialize

• External support (Other Support (applicant)): description of the applicant's support awarded or under review for salary, tuition, or research supplies
  • Please be as specific as possible when describing current or potential support: e.g. appointed to a T32 training grant, dates of appointment, amount available for tuition support each year.
  • Please specify if you prefer to be considered for a specific funding mechanism: TL1, ITMAT Scholarship
  • If you do not have other support, please indicate this in the document.
• Primary Mentor NIH biosketch and other support

• Transcripts — ONLY for predoctoral applicants — upload an unofficial transcript from your current graduate program issued to you from your school's registrar
• Three letters of support from the applicant's:
  1. Primary mentor (send them the guidelines indicated in Primary Mentor Guidelines section of this page)
  2. Secondary/co-mentor if applicable, or faculty member who can speak to your suitability for the MSTR program and/or experience in research
  3. Third faculty member who can speak to your suitability for the MSTR program and/or experience in research
     1. For postdoctoral applicants, choose another faculty member
     2. For all pre-doctoral applicants, choose another faculty member from undergraduate or graduate/medical school

• Letters of Support requests are sent in the the Recommenders Section of the application

• Applicants should:

  • communicate with their letter writers to let them know they will receive requests with instructions to upload letters from:  ITMAT, University of Pennsylvania, lor_help@collegenet.com
  • input recommender information and send the letter requests via the application system as soon as possible upon starting the application. These requests can be sent while your application is in progress.
• Letters of support have the same deadline as the application.
• Application Fee: $45 by credit card via CollegeNet

1. Create an account in the application system
2. Enter your Personal Information.  Save and continue to Program Information. 
3. Choose “Perelman School of Medicine Masters Programs”
   • For Program:
     • postdocs select:  Translational Research, MS, Post-doc applicants
     • predocs select:  Translational Research, MS, Pre-doc applicants
   • For term - select "Summer 2025"
4. You can enter information in stages, at your own pace, and access the application any number of times until submission.
5. Once the application has been fully submitted, check the status and note the receipt of recommendation letters.

The Mentor(s) letter of support should address the following:

1. The commitment to mentor the candidate
2. The suitability of the trainee's education objectives for stated career goals
3. The feasibility and relevance of stated area of research to be undertaken during the program to include:
   • The resources available to complete the research
   • The availability of collaborative relationships that may be required to undertake the research question
4. Mentor's prior experience mentoring in ITMAT programs and/or mentoring translational research trainees
   *Entrepreneurial track: include relevant experience as an innovator
5. Add an appendix: Mentor's biosketch and other support

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To review the University’s most recent annual report containing this information, please visit: https://www.publicsafety.upenn.edu/clery/annual-security-fire-safety-report/ or http://www.upenn.edu/almanac/crimes-index.html.

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