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Program Statistics

The Cedars-Sinai Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences PhD Program values a diverse student population. The program encourages students from all ethnic backgrounds to apply. Our current statistics for all applicants are shown below:

Cedars-Sinai PhD applicant ethnicity 2021 report graph

Student Progress


Among our graduates, approximately 60% took academic postdoc positions at Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, Stanford, and Harvard, with the remainder successfully enrolling in medical school, working in biotech, entering clinical fellowships or other training programs, or holding academic faculty positions.

Employers include:

  • Capricor Therapeutics, Los Angeles
  • Harvard University Pathway Genomics, San Diego
  • Pathway Genomics, San Diego
  • Peter MacCallum Cancer Center, East Melbourne, Australia
  • Shiley Eye Center of University of California, San Diego
  • University of California, Los Angeles
  • University of California, San Francisco
  • University of Puerto Rico
  • Weizman Institute, Rehovot, Israel

64% receive postdoctoral fellowships, and the current placement rate is 96%.

Cedars-Sinai PhD 2018-2021 progress report graph

PhD Program History

The PhD program in Biomedical and Translational Sciences, under the direction of William C. Parks, PhD, and Lali Medina-Kauwe, PhD, was launched in 2008, with David Underhill, PhD, serving as program director, and WASC accreditation was received in 2012. Dr. Parks was appointed the new director in 2016 and was awarded a T32 Institutional Training Grant for the PhD program by NIGMS in 2017. WASC accreditation was extended for 6 years in 2017, and in 2018 the US government granted Cedars-Sinai the ability to enroll foreign students.

PhD Program Faculty

One hundred twenty-five faculty members serve in the PhD program, with approximately 60% serving in program leadership or as a mentor, course director, course instructor, and/or dissertation committee member. Forty percent of faculty members are physician-investigators and 70% hold at least one NIH research project grant or similar grants from other federal agencies.

Time to Degree

The average time to degree is a little over five years, and the current retention rate is 96%. Students are closely mentored to ensure individual attention in the classroom as well as in each student's individual research laboratory. The Cedars-Sinai Biomedical and Translational Sciences PhD Program started its first class in the fall of 2008 and has produced 70 graduates as of 2022.

Have Questions or Need Help?

If you have questions or wish to learn more about the PhD program, call us or send a message.

Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
8687 Melrose Ave.
Suite G-532
West Hollywood, CA 90069