PROPEL Application 2026
Program Description
OHSU PROPEL is a postbaccalaureate workforce training program designed to broaden access to careers in biomedical research. We are dedicated to reducing obstacles in graduate education. We foster safe, supportive, and inclusive communities where postbacs can engage in meaningful research experiences and receive mentorship that helps guide their development as future biomedical researchers.
We support OHSU Research Assistants (RAs) - and individuals who will be hired as an RA in an OHSU research lab by July 2026 - who plan to pursue a STEM PhD as part of their long-term career goals.
Applications for the 2026–2027 program year will open on January 5, 2026. We welcome applicants interested in taking the next step toward a career in biomedical research.
The application will close on April 15, 2026 at 11:59PM PT.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible to apply to OHSU PROPEL, applicants must:
- Be employed full-time as a research assistant (e.g., Research Assistant 2, Senior Research Assistant) in the lab of an OHSU faculty member, or be in the process of being hired into an OHSU faculty member’s lab by July 2026.
- Have earned an undergraduate degree (BA/BS) from a US-based, accredited institution in a biomedically relevant discipline.
- Be highly interested in pursuing a doctoral degree in biomedical science (PhD or dual MD-PhD).
- Commit to participating in program events for at least one academic year.
Application Information
The application for the 2026-2027 program will open on January 5, 2026.
Applications are submitted through the Competitive Application Portal (CAP), powered by InfoReady. You will need to create a new account or log in with your OHSU credentials to access the application.
You will be able to save your application and return to it at a later date if you do not want to fill it all out in one sitting.
When ready to apply, you will be asked to provide responses to questions and upload certain documents to your online application as PDFs. See more details below.
There are four short answer questions:
- Please tell us about your career goals and why a PhD is a necessary step to achieving your goals.
- Tell us about your most interesting research experience and what you learned from it. Research experiences may include coursework, summer internships, volunteering, etc.
- What are your goals for preparing to start a PhD (or MD-PhD) program? How will participating in OHSU PROPEL help you with those goals?
- The PROPEL community is important to us. We support the National PROPEL Principles of Community (https://propelscholars.org/our-team/principles-of-the-propel-community).
- Which aspects of the PROPEL Principles of Community resonates most with one of your core personal values, and why?
The maximum character count for each response is 1500 characters.
An updated curriculum vitae or resume. This document should contain details of your research experiences (if applicable).
Be sure to include the following sections:
- Education
- Research Experience (if any)
- Work or Professional Experience (non-research related)
- Awards and/or Honors
- Leadership and/or Volunteer Experience
- Clinical or Shadowing Experience (applicable to those interested in applying to MD-PhD dual degree programs). Please format this section to include:
- Your role
- The location of your experience
- The total number of hours accrued in each activity
Other sections such as Presentations or Publications can be included, as needed.
Remember to list your participation in any programs that provide access to undergraduate research experiences (e.g., LSAMP, McNair, REU, SURP, MARC, etc.). For all the Experience-related sections, report dates of involvement in month-year format (e.g., May 2023 - July 2023) .
Copy of your unofficial transcript(s) submitted electronically. For students who are currently enrolled please provide transcripts with grades through the end of winter term and your current enrollment for spring term, if applicable. For students who have completed a bachelor's degree, please include your final transcript.
If you are a transfer student, please include any other transcripts from previous institutions. Be sure to merge your documents into a single PDF for upload. Include any transcripts from courses taken post-bachelor's degree, if applicable.
For your application to be considered complete, you will need to submit two letters. One of your letters should be written by a trusted mentor who can speak to your potential for research such as a research mentor, course instructor, or professor.
The second letter is a letter of support from your OHSU research mentor, who should be the Principal Investigator (PI) or head of the lab. If you are still in the hiring process, your mentor should include your anticipated start date at OHSU.
You will need to enter the email address of your two recommenders.
You are strongly encouraged to use the notification feature to send your recommenders an email with instructions on how to submit their letter. When you click "Send Letter Request" on a saved draft application in InfoReady, your letter writers will receive an automated email containing a unique link to upload their letters, even while you continue working on your draft. If you choose to not send them a notification, your recommenders will only receive a submission link once you submit the entire application, so be sure to complete the application well ahead of the deadline to give your recommenders adequate time to submit their letters.
If your recommender did not receive a link or you have questions about this step, please contact OHSU PROPEL at preptograd@ohsu.edu
Other information we request as part of the application includes:
- Contact information
- Responses to multiple-choice questions about your past research experiences (if any), graduate programs of interest, and preparation for the GRE or MCAT
- Qualtrics code (received when you complete the form that collects anonymous demographic information—this is not tied to your PROPEL application)
- Other transferable work experiences (not research-related)
Information for Letter Writers
For the letter of support, the OHSU research mentor should detail these four elements:
- Verification of RA funding for at least 1 year, should your RA be selected to join PROPEL.
- If you are in the process of hiring the applicant as an RA, please indicate their anticipated start date.
- The RA's potential for success in a doctoral degree program.
- How you will assist in your RA's professional and career development goals (e.g., review scientific writing, networking, coaching on presenting research).
- Your efforts to promote a safe and inclusive research training environment (e.g., lab agreement/compact, mentoring philosophy, etc.).
For the letter of recommendation, please address the following:
- Your relationship to the applicant, including how long you have known the applicant.
- An evaluation of the applicant’s strengths, weaknesses, and their potential for success in a research-focused doctoral degree program or MD-PhD program, if applicable.
- How the applicant may contribute to the PROPEL postbac community.
Please submit your letter by Wednesday, April 15, 2026 at 11:59 pm.
Application Deadline
Wednesday, April 15, 2026 at 11:59PM PT
Questions?
Have questions as your begin preparing your application? Contact us at preptograd@ohsu.edu