The NIGMS-IMSD fellowship program is designed to support students throughout their predoctoral studies at UCSF. The benefits of this program consider that Fellows will meet the following expectations:
• You will register and devote yourself to full-time graduate study, research, and/or dissertation writing. You are expected to maintain good academic standing and make satisfactory academic progress.
• The total combined stipend or salary that you may receive from all sources in academic year 2009-10 may not exceed $27,000; mandatory fees and health insurance are also paid for you. Tuition is paid for first-year students, if applicable. You may not accept or continue other employment without the prior approval of the Graduate Dean.
• Starting in Year 2, funds of up to $1,500 per year are available for your presentations at research conferences or workshops.
• A writing consultant is available to help with journal club presentations, qualifying exams, papers, fellowship applications, and dissertations.
• Fellows in the basic sciences are expected to advance to candidacy before their third year; fellows in the social sciences and nursing are expected to advance to candidacy before their fourth year. Continued NIGMS-IMSD funding is contingent upon advancement.
• Inform the Graduate Division of any change in your student registration or status, including other financial awards, residency status, withdrawal from graduate study, advancement to candidacy, change in degree objective, or graduation.
• Please acknowledge NIGMS-IMSD grant support (R25-GM56847) in all your publications and presentations.
The conditions of our fellowship and its benefits require that you participate in the NIGMS-IMSD program with requirements specific to your year of study as follows:
First-year: Financial support (i.e. stipends, fees, and tuition) for the first year of study is provided by graduate programs. Fellows are required to apply for California residency status at the end of the first year. Instructions and forms are online: http://saa.ucsf.edu/admission/residency.html. Fellows will meet quarterly with your 6th year peer mentor.
Years Two through Five: Contingent upon continued funding from NIGMS-IMSD and ongoing enrollment and academic performance, Fellows receive Graduate Student Researcher (GSR) appointments in years two through five. GSR appointments pay salaries and California resident fees; the amount of salary is determined on an annual basis. Non-resident tuition is not included. GSR salaries may be supplemented by graduate programs without prior approval from the Graduate Dean, if necessary to bring support up to the program’s standard level. Salaries are subject to federal and state income tax withholding. For further information regarding the taxation of student academic salaries, go to: https://graduate.ucsf.edu/financial-support/tax-information.
Second-year: Attend the NIGMS-IMSD writing class on preparing for the Qualifying Exam
Third-year: Participate in the Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) Summer Series the summer prior to your 3rd year.
Fourth-year: Attend the Office of Career & Professional Development’s “Career and Research Days” in the Spring
Fifth-year: Attend the NIGMS-IMSD dissertation writing class, and the UCSF Postdoc Boot Camp in September
Sixth-year: Serve as a mentor for a 1st year Fellow and meet quarterly with him/her
Fellows who go on leave of absence, or leave the fellowship program to accept other funding, forfeit the remainder of their NIGMS-IMSD Fellowship. Reinstatement upon returning to UCSF may be considered and is contingent upon funding availability.
UCSF Outreach Programs
We also hope, but cannot require, that NIGMS fellows will become involved in UCSF outreach events, such as the Summer Research Training Program, bi-annual colloquia for undergraduate students, and other programs coordinated by campus departments:
UCSF AGEP Health Sciences Research Colloquium: AGEP is a program sponsored by the National Science Foundation whose goal it is to significantly increase the number of African American, Hispanic, and Native American students earning PhDs in the physical and life sciences, math, and engineering and to foster their interest in and commitment to an academic career. UCSF's primary AGEP project is the development of a Health Sciences Research Colloquium for college juniors.
Center for Science Education and Opportunity : Founded in 1999 to encourage students from the San Francisco Bay Area to pursue a college education and provide guidance through the college application process.
Science and Health Education Partnership: The Science & Health Education Partnership (SEP) is a collaboration between the University of California, San Francisco and the San Francisco Unified School District. Scientists and educators from both organizations work in partnership to support quality science education for K-12 students.
