Requirements for certificate completion

A total of 24 credits hours completed in 2 years (maximum of 4 years). Individuals completing this track will receive a graduate Certificate Human Investigations.

Core Courses:

HIP 510 Introduction to Clinical Research (1 cr.)
HIP 511 Clinical Research Design I (2 cr.)
HIP 511A Proposal Development (3 cr. total)
HIP 512 Clinical Research Design II (2 cr.)
HIP 513 Clinical Research Design III (2 cr.)
HIP 516 Protection of Human Subjects (1 cr.)
HIP 517 Scientific Writing & Data Presentation (1.5 cr.)
HIP 523 Data Science for Clinical & Translational Research (2 cr.)
Selective course option: 

• HIP 507A Evidence-based Medicine Seminar (2 cr.)
• HIP 538 Community-Engaged Research (2 cr.)

Mentored Capstone Project:
HIP 526 Capstone (6 credits)

Elective courses:

• 1.5 credits or more for one elective

The core required courses and suggested electives are tuition-free and students only need pay a university fee for each term enrolled.  See more about tuition and fees

The focus of the Master of Clinical Research is on formal training for clinicians and scientists who desire to make clinical or translational research either their predominant focus or a substantial part of their long-term career goal. The main objectives of the M.C.R. are to prepare a cohort of trained investigators who will be able to successfully compete for federal, foundation, and industry funding and to conduct research and publish their findings.

In addition to completing all courses offered through the HIP curriculum and a mentored capstone project, individuals choose electives offered by the HIP program and from other graduate programs at OHSU. These include graduate courses in the School of Public Health, School of Nursing and School of Medicine including Biomedical Informatics and other basic science courses. Elective curriculum can be designed to best fit with the individual's research focus and methodology.

This track is only available to individuals already enrolled in the certificate track or who have recently completed the certificate. Individuals completing all program requirements will receive a Master of Clinical Research degree.

Requirements for M.C.R. degree completion

A total of 45 credit hours typically completed in 3 years (maximum of 6 years).  M.D. students in the Physician-Scientist Experience may complete in one year accelerated.

M.C.R. students are required to submit a plan of study and may meet with the HIP program coordinator to schedule their M.C.R. electives. 

Core Courses:

HIP 510 Introduction to Clinical Research (1 cr.)
HIP 511 Clinical Research Design I (2 cr.)
HIP 511A Proposal Development (3 cr. total)
HIP 512 Clinical Research Design II (2 cr.)
HIP 513 Clinical Research Design III (2 cr.)
HIP 516 Protection of Human Subjects (1 cr.)
HIP 517 Scientific Writing & Data Presentation (1.5 cr.)
HIP 523 Data Science for Clinical & Translational Research (2 cr.)
Selective course option: 

• HIP 507A Evidence-based Medicine Seminar (2 cr.)
• HIP 538 Community-Engaged Research (2 cr.)

Mentored Capstone Project:
HIP 526 Capstone (6 credits)

Elective courses:

• 22.5 credits or more for one elective
• In additional to electives in HIP, students may take electives from other graduate courses at OHSU.

See the course descriptions for additional elective courses.

While the core required courses and a few electives are tuition-free, most electives will be subject to tuition.  Students in the M.C.R. will need to budget for electives that are subject to tuition and for the University Fee for each term enrolled.  See more about tuition and fees for HIP.

• Students typically attend class one evening a week (Tuesdays if starting in an even year, Wednesdays if starting in an odd year) from 4:30-6:30 p.m. over 2 years.
• Classes are of variable length (4 sessions to 11 sessions) and scheduled sequentially.
• M.C.R. students may add electives to the core curriculum starting as early as their 1st year but will often wait until the 2nd year. Note that electives will be offered on other days than the core courses.  A plan of study is recommended for all years in the program in order to schedule in all electives.
• See the course descriptions.

Year one

Fall term:

• HIP Orientation (half-day seminar)
• HIP 510 Intro to Clinical Research (online, 1 credit)
• HIP 511 Clinical Research Design I (2 credits)
  • This is the first course in the Clinical Research Design sequence. Students must commit to enroll in all 3 terms.
• HIP 511A Proposal Development (1 credit)
  • Note that this course is schedule as 2 sessions each term, fall winter and spring (3 credits total). Students must commit to enroll in all 3 terms and to be enrolled in or have already completed Clinical Research Design I, II and III. This course requires intensive work in order to keep on schedule to write a research proposal.

Winter term:

• HIP 512 Clinical Research Design II (2 credits)
• HIP 511A Proposal Development (1 credit)

Spring term:

• HIP 513 Clinical Research Design III (2 credits)
• HIP 511A Proposal Development (1 credit)

Summer term (optional):

• HIP 538 Community-Engaged Research (selective choice for students matriculating Fall 2024 or later)
• Elective choices available

Year two

Fall term:

• HIP 523 Data Science for Clinical & Translational Research (8 weeks, 2 credits)
• HIP 516 Protection of Human Subjects (4 weeks, 1 credit) 

Winter term:

• HIP 517 Scientific Writing (6 weeks, 1.5 credits)
• HIP 507A Evidence-based Medicine (8 weeks, 2 credits)
  • HIP 507A is scheduled such that it starts in winter term and finishes early in spring term
  • Required course for students who matriculated before Fall 2024
  • Selective option for students matriculating Fall 2024 or later

Spring term:

• Elective opportunities:
  • See Course Descriptions for electives choice. May enroll with approval if prerequisites are met.
  • Note that some electives are tuition-fee while others are subject to tuition. See tuition and fees for details.
  • If taking both 507A and 538, one will fulfill elective requirement.

Mentored capstone project

Non-degree students can select specific courses in clinical and translational research. This option excludes a mentored experience or degree and may fulfill a requirement for research training in some department fellowships.

Non-degree students must choose to take courses for either:

• graduate level credit (pass/no pass grade), or
• audit (no credit, no grade).
• Ph.D. students may request courses to be graded with a letter grade if required by their Ph.D. graduate program. Not applicable for all courses.

*For courses that are subject to tuition, tuition applies regardless of whether the course is taken for credit or audit. 

Pre-registration is required due to limited space. Applicants submit a list of desired courses in the application to the HIP program.

Application information – read more

Tuition and fees – read more

Typical non-degree sequence

The HIP core courses are offered in a fixed sequence over two years with opportunities for electives throughout the year. Non-degree students often choose to enroll in the year-one sequence but may take the core courses from either year or any of the electives as long as prerequisites are met.

Year one core courses:

• HIP Orientation (half-day seminar)
• HIP 510 Intro to Clinical Research (online, 1 credit)
• HIP 511, 512, 513 Clinical Research Design I, II and II (fall, winter and spring terms, 6 credits total)

Year two core courses

• HIP 523 Data Science for Clinical & Translational Research (7 wks, 2 credits)
• HIP 516 Protection of Human Subjects (4 wks, 1 credit) 
• HIP 517 Scientific Writing (6 wks, 1.5 credits)
• HIP 507A Evidence-based Medicine (8 wks, 2 credits)

Elective opportunities

• See Course Descriptions for electives choice. May enroll with approval if prerequisites are met.
• Note that some electives are tuition-fee while others are subject to tuition. See tuition and fees for details.

View the course schedule for details