Work with Us
Working with a student from the Master of Science in Biomedical Communications program
If you are a scientist, researcher, clinician, or public health professional interested in acting as a content expert on an illustration, media design, or animation project, there are several ways that you might work with a MScBMC graduate student.
Master’s research project
For ambitious projects, a typical approach would be engaging with one of our first year students (usually in the January to April timeframe) to propose a Master’s Research Project (MRP). The MRP is our term for a capstone project that is a major focus of the student’s second year in our program. Your role would be to serve (along with a member of our faculty) on the student’s advisory committee, and consult on the content, design, and direction of the project. After forming an initial project plan with the advisory committee, the student would work on a research proposal and literature review over the summer. The fall, winter and spring of the second year would be taken up with the design and implementation (and possibly evaluation) of the project.
It is worth noting that the MRP approach has a relatively long timeline. To initiate this process, please provide us with a project description (including funding if available), and we will promote it to the students.
For an MRP project, please contact: Prof. Jodie Jenkinson
Scope: A large scale project
Funding: $10K-20K; not required, but advisable in order to attract students
Timeline: ~12-18 months
Intellectual property: Resides with the graduate student, unless otherwise negotiated prior to the start of the project. Please see our intellectual property discussion paper.
Content expert commitment: Attendance at four Program Advisory Committee meetings, at a minimum. Consultation (via email or brief meetings) with student at other times as needed.
Summer internship
Another approach would be to fund a student on an informal internship over the summer months (July and August) when their demands in our program are minimal.
For an internship project, please contact: Prof. Nicholas Woolridge
Scope: A medium scale project
Funding: ~$5000
Timeline: ~2-3 months
Intellectual property: Resides with the graduate student, unless otherwise negotiated prior to the start of the project
Content expert commitment: Consultation (via email or meetings) with student as needed.
Curriculum-based projects
Another approach would be to work with one of our faculty to see whether there would be an opportunity to work a topic of interest to you into our curriculum. As part of their coursework, students do projects involving anatomy, surgery, and immunology/molgen/biochemistry.
For a curriculum-based project, please contact: Prof. Marc Dryer
Scope: A small scale project
Funding: None required
Timeline: ~2-3 months, but at very specific times of the year based on our curriculum
Intellectual property: Resides with the graduate student, unless otherwise negotiated prior to the start of the project
Content expert commitment: Consultation (via email or meetings) with student as needed.
Independent contracts
If your timelines are tight, it would probably be best to hire a student or graduate on a contract basis. In this case, BMC faculty are not involved.
We can forward a proposal to our students or graduates; they will respond to you individually. We cannot recommend individuals for you to contact.
To circulate a project description, please contact: Maeve Doyle.
Scope: Variable
Funding: Depends upon the scope
Timeline: Please be considerate of current students’ academic commitments
Intellectual property: Negotiated prior to the start of the project
Content expert commitment: Consultation (via email or meetings) with student as needed.
Non-compensated projects
MScBMC students have multiple opportunities for exposure and publication, so uncompensated proposals may receive little attention. We can forward such proposals to students, but please be aware that you may receive no response.