STUDENT HANDBOOK

PhD PROGRAM: NIH TRAINING PROGRAMS

The Department currently offers an NIH-funded training opportunity in the epidemiology and biostatistics of aging.  

Positions on NIH  institutional training grants may not be used for study leading to the MD, DDS, or other clinical, health-professional degrees except when those studies are a part of a formal combined research degree program, such as the MD/PhD. Similarly, trainees may not accept NIH support for studies that are part of residency training leading to clinical certification in a medical or dental specialty or subspecialty. It is permissible and encouraged, however, for clinicians to engage in NIH- supported full-time, postdoctoral research training even when that experience is creditable toward certification by a clinical specialty or subspecialty board.

Students enrolled in health-professional doctoral degree programs may receive support for a period of short-term, full-time research training as described above. Additionally, health-professional students or individuals in postgraduate clinical training may interrupt their studies for a year or more to engage in an extended period of full-time research training before completing their professional degree or other types of clinical training.

Trainees are required to pursue their research training on a full-time basis, devoting at least 40 hours per week to the program. Within the 40-hour-per-week training period, research trainees who are also training as clinicians must devote their time to the proposed research training and must confine clinical duties to those that are an integral part of the research training experience.

To be appointed to a training position supported by an NIH research training grant, an individual must be a citizen or noncitizen national of the United States or must have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence (ie, in possession of a currently valid Alien Registration Receipt Card I-551, or some other legal verification of such status). Noncitizen nationals are generally persons born in outlying possessions of the United States (eg, American Samoa and Swains Island). Individuals on temporary or student visas are not eligible.

Predoctoral trainees must have received a baccalaureate degree by the beginning date of their NIH appointment, and must be training at the postbaccalaureate level and enrolled in a program leading to a PhD in science or in an equivalent research doctoral degree program. Health-professional students who wish to interrupt their studies for a year or more to engage in full-time research training before completing their professional degrees are also eligible.

Departmental policy limits additional hours worked by NIH trainees to 10 hours per week during the academic year and 15 hours per week during summer.

NIH training grants support a large part of each trainee's tuition, stipend and insurance. Typically, additional funding is provided to support travel and other training related expenses. The amount of these funds and their restrictions vary by grant. Questions regarding these funds should be directed to the individual training program directors.

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