History of the MIND Program
The MIND Program has had many iterations at UCSF since the initial run in 2012. Here, we have preserved the materials from previous versions.
In 2012, the NIH Biomedical Workforce Working Group issued their official report of the analysis of career outcomes for biomedical PhDs. The data they presented reflected what many already knew: that there are more PhDs for fewer academic research positions, and that students in the biomedical sciences are finding careers in a variety of fields. It was the recommendation of the working group that biomedical research training should prepare trainees for the range of careers that are available to them.
One of the initiatives they announced was the Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training (BEST) award: a $1.7m grant supported by the Common Fund, awarded to institutions that proposed a program that would provide bold and innovative approaches designed to broaden graduate and postdoctoral training. UCSF was one of only 17 recipients across the country, and with this award we created the MIND program.
Bill Lindstaedt, MA and Drs. Jennie Dorman, Terri O'Brien, and Keith Yamamoto served as co-Principal Investigators on the BEST grant. Other key staff contributors included Drs. Gabriela Monsalve, Liz Silva, Stephen Filios, Alexandra Schnoes, and Athena Lin.
Grad 213: Introduction to Career Exploration
This course provides an introduction to career exploration for complete beginners. We’ll walk you through self-assessments (how to identify your skills, interests, and values); discuss the full range of common career paths for UCSF alums (you know about research in academia and industry – but what about regulatory affairs, teaching, science communication, consulting, entrepreneurship, nonprofits?); and teach you how to start building your “working identity” by expanding your network. Don’t worry, we break down the intimidating concept of networking into something simple and, dare we say, even fun?
By the end of the class, you’ll have identified one to three career paths that you’re ready to investigate in greater depth, and have a plan for continuing to explore them.
Career Exploration Peer Teams
The MIND program also offers "peer teams," which support participants in making significant progress toward a self-defined career exploration goal (usually, this means conducting informational interviews with professionals in careers of interest). Peer teams support this process by providing advice, accountability, shared experiences, and cheerleading. Each peer team includes 5-7 MIND participants and 1-2 facilitators, who may be MIND staff, interns, or alums of the program. Facilitators provide advice and mentorship. They also help peer teams share time equitably, and keep the focus on problem-solving. Peer team participants may have taken the MIND class prior to their peer team quarter, but this is not a requirement (as of winter 2023); any student/postdoc who is committed to making significant progress on their career exploration in the course of one quarter is welcome to participate.