***You can now access detailed 2021-22 Academic Calendar
The MTM program is an intense year of coursework at both UC Berkeley and UCSF as well as hands-on projects. The curriculum is designed around three main content themes:
- Engineering (at least 10 semester units or equivalent)
- Clinical Needs and Strategies (at least 6 semester units or equivalent)
- Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology (at least 8 semester units or equivalent)
The centerpiece of the curriculum is the MTM Capstone Project Course (BIOENG 296 at UCSF). Students take 3 units of this course over all three quarters at UCSF (fall, winter, and spring). Complementing 10 months of work with external mentors, this class meets regularly to provide peer support, introduce concepts in translational medicine, and develop presentation skills. At the end of the year, all students participate in a special, invitation-only symposium to share the results of their capstone presentations. Learn more about the team MTM capstone project >>
The MTM program requires 24 semester units* of upper division and graduate courses. In addition to the required courses listed below, the program requires at least 7 semester units* of graduate electives (200-level). These span topics ranging from business and public health to computer science and epidemiology. A broad list of approved electives can give you a sense of possible curricula. In the event that a particular project or career goal would benefit from another course offered at either university, it is possible to work with the academic advisors to craft a suitable study list.
Here are the core required MTM courses across the three content themes:
- Engineering (at least 10 semester units or equivalent)
- BIOENG 270 – Translational Challenges: Diagnostics, Devices, and Therapeutics (2 quarter units) [UCSF, winter quarter]
- BIOENG 280 – Ethical and Social Issues in Translational Medicine (1 semester unit) [Berkeley, spring semester]
- BIOENG 252 – Clinical Need-Based Therapy Solutions (2 semester units) [Berkeley, fall semester] **Note that this course is not required, but is strongly recommended**
- Engineering electives
- Clinical Needs and Strategies (at least 6 semester units or equivalent)
- BIOENG 283 – Designing Clinical Research for Industry (2 quarter units) [UCSF, spring quarter]
- BIOENG 260 – Translational Challenges in Medicine – “Anti-Medical School” (1 quarter unit) [UCSF, fall quarter]
- BIOENG 285 – Health Care Finance & Economics (2 quarter units) [UCSF, fall quarter]
- Clinical needs and strategies electives
- Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology (at least 8 semester units or equivalent)
- ENGIN 270 A & B – Engineering Leadership Fall Bootcamp Courses (2 total semester units; 1 each) [Berkeley, pre-fall semester]
- ENGIN 270 electives – Engineering Leadership Spring Bootcamp Courses (2 total semester units; you pick 2 of any of the 1 semester unit electives) [Berkeley, pre-spring semester]
- Note the Fung Institute coordinates and administers all pre-semesters bootcamp courses. They send separate communications to incoming students in regards to enrolling in these classes. You can see a past list of ENGIN electives here.
- Business/entrepreneurship electives
Two additional required MTM courses can be split across categories to help you design a curriculum that fits your interests:
- The 9 units of the required MTM Capstone Course [BIOENG 296 at UCSF; 3 units per quarter] can be distributed between the Engineering and Clinical Needs and Strategies categories
- The 2 units of the required Project Management Course [BIOENG 290 at Berkeley; 1 unit per semester] can be distributed between the Engineering and Business Entrepreneurship, and Technology categories
*Since UC Berkeley is on a semester schedule and UCSF is on a quarter schedule, unit descriptions are different depending on campus. 1 semester unit is equivalent to 1.5 quarter units.
