Questions and answers
– I already work in a company. Can I attend the Masters?
If the company deals with any sector of clinical research (CROs, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, etc.) the answer is certainly yes. The company must be available to allow the person to attend the educational activities on Friday (9-18) and Saturday (8-13). Instead of the internship, there is the possibility of completing a “project work” in the company.
– What will the selection interview consist of?
The interview is of the motivational type, to allow the commission to evaluate why the candidates want to enter clinical research, which professional figures they have in mind, what level of conversation they can sustain in English, how motivated they are to face a very dynamic and competitive. Obviously there will be no pharmacology questions…
– Is the Master useful for finding work?
From the first editions to the current one, the Masters has guaranteed all students the opportunity to do an internship in a company or institution that deals with clinical research. Many students have signed a fixed-term employment contract even before the end of the internship. Many received a permanent job offer at the end of the internship. All students are employed within 1-2 months of completing the master’s degree.
– I will graduate after the deadline for submitting applications for admission: can’t I do the Master’s?
Graduating students who, in Italy, achieve the qualification required for access within the first graduation session following the start of teaching activities and who, at the date of the selective admission procedures, are also eligible to apply for admission to the master’s degree in the absence of only the activities foreseen for the final exam. In the event of admission, these students will be able to conditionally enroll according to the deadlines indicated, undertaking to communicate to the Student Secretariat the achievement of the admission qualification. If within this period they do not obtain the qualification required for access to the master’s degree, they will lose their student status and, therefore, will not be able to continue attending or obtain certifications. There will also be no refund of the registration fee paid.
– I am enrolled in a PhD at another university: can I enroll in the Master?
Unfortunately not. Enrollment in a Master’s is incompatible with enrollment in other study courses offered at this or other universities.
– Is the English test oral? Will knowledge of grammar be tested?
The English test is a test of understanding of the language, it will be carried out on the computer and will be based on about sixty multiple choice questions (4 answers, of which only one is correct). There are no English grammar questions. Some are based on reading and understanding short texts. Others relate to basic scientific knowledge (high school level). It is necessary to pass the English test (at least half of the correct answers) to be admitted to the interview.
– I will have to take time off work to participate in the English proficiency assessment. Is it possible to have a certificate for the employer?
Anyone who needs the declaration of participation to justify absence from work should report it in advance by e-mail to antonio.torsello@unimib.it.
– Does the Master count as CME credits?
The university master’s degree, being an academic qualification, does not give CME credits but exempts the student from obtaining the ECMs for the year of attendance of the master. In fact, the Ministry of Health Circular dated 5 March 2002 reads: “……..Healthcare personnel who attend, in Italy and abroad, post-basic training courses specific to the professional category to which they belong are excluded from the CME obligation (specialization course, specific training course in general medicine, research doctorate, master’s degree, specialist degree) for all the years included in the training commitment ………….”
– Does the master give the possibility to enter the CRO as a monitor?
Yes, the achievement of the Master is a valid qualification to start the career of CRA. In fact, the Ministerial Decree of March 31, 2008 reads: “….1. If the CRO carries out monitoring activities, it must have the relevant personnel in possession of at least the following requirements: ……omissis….d) at least 4 months of activity in the 12 months preceding the start of autonomous areas of control and/or supervision of medicines and/or clinical trials; alternatively, a further 40 days of activity referred to in letter c) carried out in the 12 months preceding the start of the autonomous monitoring activity; alternatively achievement of a post-graduate university master or specialization school or equivalent university post-graduate course in clinical trials or regulatory sciences or in