The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine has made significant contributions to the history of global medical research. From the development of the first polio vaccine by Jonas Salk more than 50 years ago, to the groundbreaking biomedical investigations being led today, our program is dedicated to fostering those who hunger for discovery. Students can explore a personalized training path with opportunities that range from fundamental mechanistic biology to clinical translation.
Program Links:
- Biomedical Informatics
- Cell, Molecular and Systems Biology
- Clinical and Translational Science
- Computational Biology
- Health Professions Education
- Interdisciplinary Biomedical Graduate Program (two program options)
- Microbiology and Immunology
- Molecular Biophysics and Structural Biology
- Neurobiology/Neuroscience
- Oncology
- Precision and Regenerative Medicine
Biomedical Informatics
The Biomedical Informatics program provides training in knowledge-based systems and medical artificial intelligence in the context of health care delivery. Students conduct research on: simulation and modeling of complex phenomena; information retrieval, problem solving and cognition; system evaluation, social/organizational factors, and health services research; machine learning, data mining and knowledge discovery; enterprise computing: integrated architectures and clinical and biomedical application of the internet; and organization and representation of multimedia biomedical information.
Application Open: Oct. 1
Deadline to Apply: Dec. 15 for predoctoral admission | March 1 for postdoctoral scholar/researcher
Cell, Molecular and Systems Biology
The Cell, Molecular and Systems Biology (CMSB) PhD program provides an exciting and vigorous academic environment for training highly motivated biomedical students and prepares them for research careers in academia and industry. Science is entering a new age at the interface of biology, medicine and computer science. The goal of CMSB is to train the next generation of scientists to integrate concepts and methods from these singular disciplines to unravel the mysteries of complex biological systems and the molecular basis of disease. The CMSB program offers a unique combination of molecular genetics and genomics, single cell biology and high-resolution imaging techniques together with computational and informatics-based analyses.
Application Open: Sept. 1
Deadline to Apply: Dec. 1
Clinical and Translational Science
We live in an exciting era of scientific revolution. The nation has devoted extensive resources to basic biomedical research, and this has led to many fundamental discoveries. Now is the time to cross the barriers between basic science and clinical research to translate new knowledge into enhanced clinical care for the patient and back again to the bench. Clinical and translational science is the emerging field that aims to close the gap between basic science and clinical research. This rigorous and advanced training program is intended primarily for clinicians.
Application Open: Sept. 1
Deadline to Apply: Jan. 31
Computational Biology
The joint PhD program in computational biology represents an exciting collaborative program offered by the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University. The program's goal is to provide intensive, interdisciplinary education to enable outstanding students to become leaders in identifying and solving tomorrow's biological problems using computational and/or mathematical methods and fundamental principles of life and physical sciences.
Application Open: Sept. 7
Deadline to Apply: Dec. 10
Health Professions Education
This PhD program is designed for educators, scholars, and leaders across the health sciences who are ready to deepen their expertise and step into senior leadership roles. Graduates will be prepared to lead educational innovation, drive institutional change, and contribute original research to the field of health professions education.
Application Open: July. 1
Deadline to Apply: Aug. 7
Interdisciplinary Biomedical Graduate Program (two program options)
The Interdisciplinary Biomedical Graduate Program offers training in pathology and pharmacology. This program has a strong track record of training success that begins with an emphasis on laboratory rotations and rigorous introduction to modern cell and molecular biology, followed by students choosing an area of specialization. After the first year of interdisciplinary training and selection of a dissertation mentor, students transfer into a PhD granting program in one of the following areas:
- Cellular and Molecular Pathology
- Molecular Pharmacology
Application Open: Sept. 1
Deadline to Apply: Dec. 1
Microbiology and Immunology
The Program in Microbiology and Immunology (PMI) brings together faculty in basic and translational sciences, including researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Magee-Womens Research Institute, John G. Rangos Sr. Research Center, UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, and the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center. The program aims to train highly motivated PhD students as self-reliant scholars in an environment with ready access to the breadth of expertise, approaches and subdisciplines that constitute the diverse fields encompassing microbiology and immunology.
Application Open: Sept. 1
Deadline to Apply: Dec. 1
Molecular Biophysics and Structural Biology
The Molecular Biophysics and Structural Biology (MBSB) program is an exciting joint program (offered by Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh) that operates at the fertile interfaces between biology, chemistry, physics and other traditional disciplines. Molecular biophysics aims to unravel and explain biological phenomena and processes in atomic and molecular detail. Research conducted by faculty of the MBSB program addresses diverse problems of molecular structure and function at the highest levels of resolution that one can observe.
Application Open: Sept. 1
Deadline to Apply: Early: Dec. 1 | Regular: Jan. 1
Neurobiology/Neuroscience
This campus-wide program is overseen through the Center for Neuroscience at the University of Pittsburgh (CNUP). It is designed to develop competence in conducting laboratory research, general knowledge of neuroscience and specific expertise in one or more areas of neuroscience, and general professional competence in oral and written expression necessary for a career in science.
Application Open: Sept. 30
Deadline to Apply: Dec. 1
Oncology
The Oncology graduate program provides comprehensive training opportunities for the next generation of cancer researchers. Located at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, one of only 53 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers, students will have access to state-of-the art facilities and train with scientists from the entire spectrum of cutting-edge cancer research and biological basis for care, from the bench to the bedside.
Application Open: Sept. 1
Deadline to Apply: Dec. 1
Precision and Regenerative Medicine
The PITT-RCSI PhD Program in Precision and Regenerative Medicine (PRM) is an innovative, research-based international program designed to create new knowledge at the forefront of an emerging biomedical field. As a joint initiative between the University of Pittsburgh and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) in Dublin, this is the first program at Pitt where a dual PhD degree is awarded by two international institutions.
Application Open: Sept. 1
Deadline to Apply: Dec. 1