Welcome to YCA

Enhancing Biomedical Training and Diversity Through Skills Development, Community, and Outreach

The Yale Ciencia Academy (YCA) is a FREE year-long program that equips biomedical or health sciences doctoral students from underrepresented backgrounds who are ~2 years away from graduation with the knowledge, skills, and networks they need to find great post-PhD positions.

Over the course of one year, fellows will participate in in-person and virtual activities to become part of a supportive peer community; develop important career planning, mentoring, and scientific and interpersonal communication skills and products; and connect with role models from diverse backgrounds.

Applications for YCA 2022 are now open!

Please note: Starting in 2021, we have modified the YCA eligibility requirements and program offerings to focus on late-stage graduate students interested in advancing towards academic careers. You can read more about this change here.

Program Components

The YCA program is guided by three main pillars: (1) planning, (2) mentoring, and (3) communication. The activities under each pillar are designed to prepare you to successfully transition to a post-PhD position that matches your career goals, interests, and values and to develop skills that will be of value at every stage of your scientific career:

1. Planning: Figuring out your next steps at the same time as finishing experiments and writing a thesis can be daunting and requires planning and reflection. We will demystify the post-PhD transition process and you will receive training and individualized feedback to help you reflect on your ideal post-PhD position and develop an actionable agenda for the transition.

2. Mentoring: Advising relationships and needs change and evolve as a scientist develops. We will provide mentoring-up training to help you manage your existing mentoring relationships and establish new ones for a successful PhD to post-PhD transition. In addition, we will connect you with a supportive community of peers from similar backgrounds who will be a source of encouragement and advice. Finally, advisors of YCA Fellows will be invited to participate in a brief optional program to refine their ability to support trainees from underrepresented backgrounds, gain access to resources that will benefit them and their institutions and get recognition for their commitment to diversity and inclusion.

3. Communication: The ability to communicate your research and who you are as a scientist to experts and non-experts is an integral part of your success in science. YCA Fellows will develop a personal narrative, receive training in scientific presentation skills, and be supported to make their public engagement more meaningful and effective.

The Yale Ciencia Academy is funded by grant R25GM114000 from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)