Candidates for the NIH-funded BCSDP must already possess a professional clinical degree (e.g., OD, MD, DO, DVM, DDS, or equivalent). NIH clinician-scientist awards are intended to support established clinicians with varying levels of research experience whose career development goals focus on becoming clinician scientists and patient-oriented clinical investigators capable of conducting independent vision research.

The National Eye Institute (NEI-NIH) sets additional guidelines for eligibility, as follows:

Eligible Candidates

1. Clinician candidates appointed to the proposed program must be U.S. citizens, non-citizen US nationals, or permanent US residents.
2. Individuals who were former Principal Investigators (PI) on NIH Small Grants (R03) or Exploratory/Developmental Grants (R21) are eligible.
3. Candidates must have established clinical skills and experience.

Ineligible Candidates

1. Candidates who are not US citizens, non-citizen US nationals, or permanent US residents.
2. Former PIs on NIH individual career development awards (K08, K23, K24); research project grants (R01, R29); or sub-projects on Program Project Grants (P01), center grants and their equivalent, and cooperative clinical trials are not eligible.
3. Candidates who have been supported on NIH or non-NIH career development awards dedicated to training clinician scientists and patient-oriented researchers are not eligible.
4. Candidates may not have more than five years of research training experience beyond their last doctoral degree nor have held a tenure track position for more than four years.

The following table provides an outline of the steps required for admissions into the BCSDP.

Application Deadline	There is no deadline for submission of applications during each program year, which runs from October through the following September. Nevertheless, the number of trainee positions is very limited each year, so we strongly recommend that applicants submit their applications as soon as possible.
Letter of Intent & CV	All applicants must contact the Program Director with a Letter of Intent and a CV. The letter should outline the applicant's research interests and career goals, explaining how the BCSDP would support those goals. The Letter of Intent and CV may be sent either as a printed hard copy, a file attachment to an email message (MS Word, RTF, or PDF), or as text written within the body of an email message.
Primary Mentor Search or Selection	If the Program Director and/or Advisory Committee agrees that the applicant's qualifications and career objectives meet minimal requirements, and that the BCSDP is likely to make a significant contribution toward helping the applicant achieve those goals, the applicant will then be given approval to contact a Primary Mentor who would be willing to supervise the candidate's training program. See the listing of Primary Mentors.
Proposed Training Plan	Once a Primary Mentor has agreed to sponsor the applicant, the candidate and mentor must together develop a proposed training plan for submission to the Advisory Committee, which will review the plan for final approval. The plan should also identify Associate Mentors (i.e., mentors who would participate in the candidate's interdisciplinary training).
Application	Application Form  Downloadable Application Form (Microsoft Word). If you do not have the MS Word program or have difficulty opening the file, please contact the Program Director. Read the Application Form carefully. The form must include signed prior approval from a Primary Mentor before submission! Save the completed form with a file name that includes your last name and "BCSDP_Applc" (for example, BCSDP_Appl_YourLastName.doc) Email as an attachment to the Program Director. Transcripts Applicants must provide transcripts of grades from graduate and professional programs. Letters of Recommendation In addition, 3 letters of recommendation are required (1 from the prospective lead mentor, 2 from other sources). See Application Form above for more information.
Review by Advisory Committee	All application materials will be reviewed by the BCSDP Advisory Committee. Candidates under final consideration will also be contacted for follow-up interviews, to be conducted either by telephone or through in-person meetings.
Letter of Acceptance	The BCSDP Program Director will send successful candidates an official notice of acceptance.
UC Appointment	The trainee will be given an appointment at the University of California, Berkeley, approximately equivalent to a faculty-level salary — depending on previous training, research experience, professional appointments, and years since obtaining professional degrees.