Wellcome Trust Clinical Career Tracker
Aims
Following on from the success of the Basic Science Career Tracker, the Wellcome Trust Evaluation Team launched the Clinical Career Tracker in 2011. The Clinical Career Tracker is designed to track and understand the career intentions, motivations and destinations of selected cohorts of Wellcome Trust-funded clinical fellows. The study is also designed to help inform the Wellcome Trust's provision of research and career support.
Career Tracker terminology
When exploring the data, you will see that respondents are analysed by Award, Cohort and Wave.
- The 'Award' refers to the type of Wellcome Trust grant received.
- The 'Cohort' refers to the financial year in which the researcher received their award. For example, the 2007/2008 cohort started their PhD in the financial year 2007/2008.
- The 'Wave' refers to the survey from which the data have been taken. For example, Wave 1 was the first Clinical Career Tracker survey and was sent out in 2011, and Wave 2 was sent out in 2012.
Method
Each year, members of the cohorts receive a short online survey asking about their career intentions and development. New cohorts are added to the tracker each year as grantholders enter their final year, while former awardees continue to receive the survey annually. Since its launch, our Clinical Career Tracker has achieved a very high annual response of around 80 per cent.
Who are we tracking?
- Clinical PhD Programmes provide support for aspiring academics wishing to undertake rigorous research training in a structured environment.
- Research Training Fellowships provide support for medical, dental, veterinary or clinical psychology graduates who hope to have a long-term career in academic medicine and wish to undertake a higher degree.
- Postdoctoral Training Fellowships for MB/PhD Graduates provide support for newly qualified MB/PhD graduates, or those who undertook a PhD during or before starting their medical degree, to make an early start in developing their independent research careers.
- Intermediate Clinical Fellowships provide support for outstanding medical, dental, veterinary or clinical psychology graduates to continue their research interests at a postdoctoral level and work towards independence.
- Senior Research Fellowships in Clinical Science provide support for clinical investigators to further develop their research potential and to establish themselves as leading investigators in clinical academic medicine.
- Veterinary Research Entry Fellowships (scheme is now closed) provided support for veterinary graduates to undertake research leading to a Master's degree.
- Integrated Training Fellowships for Veterinarians (scheme is now closed) provided up to six years' support to allow veterinary graduates to combine undertaking a PhD with clinical training.
- Veterinary Postdoctoral Fellowships (scheme is now closed) provided support for veterinary postdoctoral researchers to undertake high-quality research and develop their independence.
Clinical Career Tracker reports and data
Explore our Wave 1 Clinical Career Tracker summary report [PDF 144KB]. The report for Wave 2 will be available soon, and Wave 3 will be launched in autumn 2013.
If you have any questions for the Wellcome Trust Evaluation team please contact us at surveys@wellcome.ac.uk.
Page last updated in May 2013.
