Mechanisms and criteria for selection of trainees into CATER:
Students entering the CATER program will generally be second or third year graduate students and will receive funding for the next academic year. All students must have maintained at least a 3.25 GPA during the 1st year of training in order to be eligible for CATER funding in the second cycle/year.
There are two mechanisms by which students gain entry into the CATER Training Program. The first is via successful admission into the University of Pittsburgh Bioengineering department and completion of the first year course requirements and the second is by admission into the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Interdisciplinary Biomedical Graduate Training Program (IBGP) and completion of the first year course requirements. It is during the second and subsequent years of graduate school that students will be eligible to receive training funding support via this training program.
Each year, the CATER Trainee Admissions and Evaluation Committee will invite from all Bioengineering and IBGP graduate students, as well as CATER training faculty nominations of qualified students using a standard nomination form that includes relevant academic information, a brief personal statement and research proposal by the student, and three letters of reference. The committee will evaluate the candidates based on:
- -Research background and interests relevant to program goals
- -Letters of reference
- -GPA
- -Personal statement
- -Program affiliation
- -Diversity of student body
Special consideration will be given to pre-doctoral trainees that are jointly mentored by CATER training faculty members or participate in collaborative research projects by the training faculty. Financial support will be provided as deemed by the selection committee which is currently for one with an option for a second year.
Student evaluation at the end of the first year will consist of a review of the coursework, participation in seminars and other training activities (preparation of manuscripts, presentation of data at conferences), written critique by the faculty mentor, and research topic. CATER trainees will continue to participate in all related training activities, regardless of the source of stipend support, and will submit annual progress reports throughout their graduate career.
