In a memo sent out recently to academic deans, faculty and staff, USC Provost Elizabeth Garrett, JD, announced the creation of a new program to enhance the “success and effectiveness of tomorrow’s health-care professionals.”

Garrett stated that she and Keck School of Medicine of USC Dean Carmen A. Puliafito, MD, MBA, worked together to create the Provost’s Postdoctoral Scholars Program for Clinical Residents and Fellows. Beginning in fall 2013, this new signature program will award qualifying senior residents and fellows at Keck Hospital of USC, LAC+USC Medical Center and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles the rights and privileges of a postdoctoral scholar at USC. Those privileges include up to 20 units of graduate tuition funding to support their education and full access to library material and facilities for their study or work.

“This new program will provide resources to facilitate and catalyze consequential scholarship and scholarly activity by these promising doctors, many of whom go on to become our junior faculty or join other prestigious academic centers,” Garrett stated in the memo.

Also stated in the memo is that additional tuition support is available on a competitive basis for those students who wish to pursue a master’s degree at the Keck School and who have been admitted to a qualifying program.

“It is critically important that our residents and fellows have additional opportunities to immerse themselves in scholarly areas beyond their clinical training,” said Puliafito. “By fulfilling their residencies and fellowships at USC, they are gaining incredible clinical skills. This new postdoctoral scholars program will encourage them to grow their expertise in research, business administration, epidemiology and other areas.”

To be eligible for the program, candidates must meet a number of requirements, including having a relevant doctoral degree (PhD or MD) and being engaged in a residency or fellowship program that allows a significant portion of training to be spent in pursuit of research or scholarly activity. The residency or fellowship program director must approve the candidate’s participation in the program and must also certify that the scholar will have sufficient protected time to achieve success in his or her research or scholarly efforts.

Details of the new program and an application form can be found at http://postdocs.usc.edu/provosts-postdoctoral-scholars-program-for-clinical-residents-and-fellows.