Personalized and Genomic Medicine (PMED) Graduate Certificate Program Overview

PMED Program Details

The graduate certificate in Personalized and Genomic Medicine is a unique certificate program that can help you enter a niche in the healthcare field. Personalized medicine offers people customized healthcare and specific insights into genetic data that inform treatment responses and predict disease. You will learn about a new and evolving field of medicine, which you can apply to a wide variety of careers in the health sciences.

Most of the program is offered in an asynchronous format, which means you watch lectures and complete coursework on your own without having set login times. However, each course has 2-3 synchronous journal article discussions via live video chat.

• Complete your 12-credit-hour graduate certificate in one year
• Immediately apply what you learn to your current career context
• Develop graduate-level knowledge and skills for research, clinical, and industry settings

PMED Graduate Certificate Courses

PMED6010 Foundations in Personalized Health
This course introduces students to the field of personalized medicine and prepares students to integrate this field into a variety of health-related professions. Students will gain the foundational knowledge to successfully apply personalized medicine approaches to scientific research and clinical care.

PMED6110 Pharmacogenomics
This course introduces students to pharmacogenetics, which refers to how genetic factors influence drug metabolism and dosing. Students will gain the foundational knowledge to use pharmacogenetics in scientific research and clinical care.

PMED6210 Multi-omic Approaches in Personalized Medicine
This course introduces students to cutting-edge concepts, technologies, analytic methods, and databases for a wide-range of ‘omics approaches that form the foundation of personalized medicine. Critical evaluation of literature utilizing ‘omics methods for personalized medicine will also be emphasized.

Choose between:

PMED6410 Methods and Challenges in Observational Health Data Analysis

OR

PMED6910 Applications and Challenges in Personalized Medicine

Career Data

The fully online graduate certificate in Personalized and Genomic Medicine is ideal for students already working in the field of health sciences and can help students pursue work in genomics and/or personalized medicine. Additionally, students with undergraduate degrees in biological sciences are best prepared for the coursework in this certificate program.

Students with a foundation of knowledge in personalized and genomic medicine can utilize it in a variety of jobs and career settings, primarily in the health sciences. The following career paths are just a few examples.

• Research associate
• Sales / marketing
• Lab technician
• Education / teaching
• Scientific writing
• Outreach / public relations
   

Admissions Information

Applicants must hold a bachelor’s degree with a minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.0 and be proficient in English language skills. Undergraduate studies in the sciences are highly encouraged. Students are admitted once per year in the fall semester. For admission consideration, you will be required to submit:

• The online graduate school application
• A statement of purpose
• A résumé / CV
• Driver’s license / state-issued ID
• Application fee
• Official transcripts from all post-secondary colleges/universities
  • Mail physical transcripts to:
    University of Colorado Denver Graduate Admissions
    Campus Box 163
    PO Box 173364
    Denver, CO 80217-3364
  • Email electronic transcripts to:
    graduateadmissions@ucdenver.edu

The PMED graduate certificate program has no prerequisite testing requirements, including no GRE or GMAT.

There is a $50 application fee for the graduate school, but this fee is waived for applicants who attend one of the program’s information sessions. Admission decisions are typically made in 4-6 weeks.

Completion Time

This 12-credit-hour online program can be completed in two semesters, on average, which means you can finish in one year. Courses are eight (8) weeks long.

Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP)

The Personalized and Genomic Medicine (PMED) Graduate Certificate program participates in the Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP), which is a tuition-reciprocity arrangement with 15 participating states and one commonwealth. The WRGP program allows students who are residents of these participating states to pay in-state tuition for the duration of their degree or certificate program. In addition to Colorado, the participating states and territories include: Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau.

WRGP tuition-reciprocity is available to all incoming students who qualify. Those wishing to apply for WRGP status must complete the WRGP application and submit it to the Program Administrator upon admission to the program.

Questions about the WRGP program and application process can be directed to the program administrator at PMED@cuanschutz.edu.