Graduate Certificate in Women’s Health Research

Apply to join the 2027 cohort! https://applynow.unc.edu/apply/

Applications due August 3rd, 2026

Letters of intent due June 19th, 2026*

*For applicants wishing to waive the application fee, please submit a brief letter indicating your interest in pursuing the Certificate in Women’s Health Research to Program Director, Dr. Melinda Yates.

Program Description:

The Graduate Certificate in Women’s Health Research (WHR) will provide trainees with a formal program of courses and seminars to develop specialized research training in the field of women’s health and sex-associated pathologies. Trainees within this program will have access to an interdisciplinary education, faculty mentorship, and collaborations with medical students in the Women’s Health Scholarly Concentration Program to promote future partnerships between emerging clinical scientists and research scientists in this field.  

Certificate Requirements:

• Take and pass a minimum 9 credits of women’s health-related coursework. Students must complete at least one course in each concentration. The following courses are preapproved to fulfill this requirement:
  • Required: BIOL 523 – Sex Differences in Human Disease (3 credits)
  • Biological Concentration:
    • BIOL 405 – Good Genes: Human Reproduction in the Social Context (3 credits)
    • BIOL 408H – Embryology to Biomedical Frontiers (3 credits)
    • BIOL 429 – Human Genetic Diversity (3 credits)
    • BIOL 440 – Stem Cell Biology (3 credits)
    • BIOL 441 – Vertebrate Embryology (3 credits)
    • NUTR 611 – Food and Your Life Stages (3 credits)
    • PATH 770 – The Mouse Efficacy and Disease Models (3 credits)
  • Sociocultural Concentration:
    • WGST 790: Graduate Seminar in Women’s Studies (3 credits)
    • WGST 890: Special Topics in Women’s Studies (3 credits)
    • MHCH 610 – Issues in Maternal and Child Health (3 credits)
    • MHCH 625 – Injury as a Public Health Problem (3 credits)
    • MHCH 680 – Global Sexual and Reproductive Health (3 credits)
    • SOCI 823 – Integrating Social and Biological Perspectives on Human Health (3 credits)
    • SOCI 826 – Health and Developmental Trajectories from Adolescence and Adulthood (3 credits)
    • SOCI 833 – Socioeconomic Factors in Fertility (3 credits)
    • SOCI 851 – Sociology of Gender (3 credits)
    • SOCI 863 – Sociology of Health, Illness, and Healing (3 credits)
    • SOCI 950 – Seminar in Selected Topics (3 credits)
• Attend monthly WHMC Journal Clubs
• Participate in the monthly Cohort Meetings which will rotate between guest speaker seminars, research in progress talks, and professional development topics.
  • 75% attendance is required at the Journal Clubs and Cohort Meetings during the first 2 years in the program. Senior trainees are welcome to attend journal clubs and meetings as they wish.
• Attend and present your research at an approved research symposium

This certificate is awarded concurrent with your PhD/graduate diploma.

Certificate Application Requirements:

1. Applicant’s NIH-style Biosketch (Fellowship) [Template available here: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/forms/biosketch.htm]
2. Applicant’s project proposal with aims (1 page max)
3. A letter of support from your primary research mentor describing how the project relates to women’s health/sex-associated pathologies, and their commitment in supporting the student through the requirements of the certificate
4. $45 application fee

Deadline: August 3rd, 2026

How to Apply:

1. Log in with your UNC account: https://applynow.unc.edu/apply/
2. Start a new application
3. Select “Certificate”
4. Click “Open Application” 
5. Select a Program → Women’s Health Research

For more information about the application process or the program in general, contact Dr. Melinda Yates, Program Director (msyates@email.unc.edu), or Kylie Hutchison, Program Management Team Lead (kyliee@unc.edu).