Ideal candidates for the National Clinician Scholars Program include physicians and nurses who are committed to research and/or a career addressing health, health care, and health disparities and also meet the following eligibility criteria:

• MDs, RNs with a doctoral degree, and DNPs (Doctor of Nursing Practice), with clinical training or doctoral degrees completed within the previous 5 years prior to the application period;
• Hold US citizenship or permanent resident status at the time of application;
• Ability to commit to a 2-year, full-time fellowship training program and related activities (100% effort is a program requirement);
• Outstanding letters of recommendation by those responsible for their clinical or academic research training; completion of clinical requirements allowing for independent clinical work by the date of entry into the program (with exception for surgeons who may enter this fellowship during their allocated research time);
• Demonstrate commitment to research and/or a career in serving as change agents to improve health via academic medicine, public health, health policy, or another career congruent with the program’s purposes and priorities of developing physician and nurse leaders and skilled researchers; For all applicants, relevant research experience is a particular strength in the application evaluation process.

This program embraces diversity and inclusion across multiple dimensions, such as race, ethnicity, gender, age, disadvantaged socioeconomic status, and diverse clinical and academic training backgrounds. We strongly encourage applications from candidates who seek to include diverse perspectives and experiences in our program and better the work we conduct to help everyone receive care and live healthier lives.

Desirable attributes of applicants include:

• demonstrated interest in improving health or the health care system;
• exhibited leadership capabilities, including setting high personal goals and motivating others;
• demonstrated ability to develop new ideas and to implement them;
• ability to interact and communicate effectively with others;
• record of consistent accomplishment of project activities;
• previous research experience, published or unpublished; and
• interest in, and/or experience with, community organizations.

Nurses and physicians who meet the eligibility requirements may apply on line through the national program application website: Online Application

The common online application will ask you to indicate the NCSP site(s) you wish to apply (applicants are encouraged to consider more than one site in their application because of the limited positions available each year. Candidates selected for interviews will have the opportunity to rank sites after interviews are completed). Applications are distributed by the NCSP central office to each program site for review and to determine candidates selected for interviews. The National Clinician Scholars Program Directors and their designated local program committee will make all acceptance decisions for their respective sites. All applicants will be kept informed about their application status via email and the programs do not provide individual critiques of applications submitted.

Our FAQs page addresses many common questions. For site-specific questions, or items not addressed on this website, please contact the UCLA Program Administrator via email.