Logo for University of Iowa Health Care This logo represents the University of Iowa Health Care

About the Office

Students in lab

The Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (OGPS) oversees graduate (PhD) and postdoctoral training in the biomedical sciences in the Carver College of Medicine (CCOM). The Office also has a close working relationship with the Graduate College.

Our Biomedical Science Program (BSP) includes 300+ faculty under the diversity of an umbrella program that includes some of the most elite programs at the University of Iowa, and several of the programs are ranked in the top 15 nationwide. Students are admitted directly to one of seven subprograms. Related Interdisciplinary Graduate Programs include Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyGeneticsHuman Toxicology, Immunology, Microbiology and Neuroscience.

The programs interface closely with the highly ranked UI Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP), and host the MD/PhD students for the PhD phase of their training.

The combined programs have:

Well-funded and highly visible training faculty from 26 basic science and clinical departments in the CCOM, and from other biomedically-related departments across the campus (e.g., Biology, Engineering, Psychology), participate in training graduate students. A high proportion of the training faculty are clinician-scientists, providing graduate students uncommon opportunities to gain experience with clinical populations relevant to their bench science.

The programs attract stellar applicant pools each year, and matriculation is highly competitive and selective. In conjunction with the Office of UI Grad Success the OGPS provides professional development and career skills training across the biomedical programs, to ensure that students acquire appropriate skill sets to compete at the next level.

Students across the biomedical sciences have a long history of:

  • Success in winning extramural funding, including prestigious NRSA (F30, F31) and NSF fellowships.
  • Being competitive for traditional career outcomes (e.g., independent scientist positions at research-intensive institutions).
  • Being competitive for other career outcomes where PhD training is vital (e.g., teaching positions at liberal arts colleges and universities, research positions in biotechnology and industry, administrative positions in government, and media positions).

 


The University of Iowa prohibits discrimination in employment, educational programs, and activities on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, pregnancy, disability, genetic information, status as a U.S. veteran, service in the U.S. military, sexual orientation, gender identity, associational preferences, or any other classification that deprives the person of consideration as an individual. The university also affirms its commitment to providing equal opportunities and equal access to university facilities. For additional information on nondiscrimination policies, contact the Director, Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity, the University of Iowa, 202 Jessup Hall, Iowa City, IA, 52242-1316, 319-335-0705 (voice), 319-335-0697 (TDD), diversity@uiowa.edu