Biotechnology Work Experience Certificate of Achievement

The high density of biotechnology industry and research laboratories in the Bay Area has generated an increased demand for jobs in biotechnology fields. This program is designed to provide laboratory skills and real-life work experience through internships for the students who are exploring careers in biotechnology. In addition to technical laboratory skills, the students will gain essential career skills with focus on workplace success. The internships are closely monitored by the faculty through a support class where the students share their experiences, discuss laboratory work etiquettes and practice scientific communication. The program provides networking opportunities for the students with biotechnology industry professionals.  The program allows the students to gain valuable real-life work experience that prepares them for entry level careers such as research and laboratory assistants and technicians in industry and academic laboratories. 

Based on the number of students who have done internships in the past years, we anticipate roughly about 20 students to complete the program each year.

The goal of the Biotechnology Work Experience Certificate program is to provide the students with skills and experience required for employment in the biotechnology fields. The Biotechnology Work Experience certificate is designed to be the capstone program for the students who have completed the introductory Biotechnology Lab Assistant certificate or the more advanced Biotechnology certificate and can benefit from gaining valuable work experience through internships.

Upon completion of this program, students will be able to:

• Communicate accurate records of laboratory work including objectives, procedures, and analysis of the results.
• Design and perform basic procedures and techniques used in the biotechnology industry.
• Research and communicate scientific concepts and principles to describe different fields of biotechnology industry and applications, as well as impacts on society.
• Practice professional skills, workplace etiquette and integrity in a biotechnology industry setting.

The Biotechnology program has 2 types of work experience or internship:

1. Bridge to Bioscience Internship:

a. appropriate for all levels

b. can be completed after 1 year at CCSF if at least 4 units of BTEC lab electives are taken in Y1, S1.

2. CIRM-Bridges Internship:

a. appropriate for advanced levels

b. can be completed after 1.5-2 years at CCSF

c. BTEC 21D/E are required for the CIRM-Bridges Internship; students who complete the CIRM-Bridges Internship meet the requirements for this certificate

Required courses:

                                                                             Units           Sequence 

BTEC 93 - Biotechnology Work Experience     3.00 - 16.00    Y1, S2

BIO 11 - Science of Living Organisms               4.00                 Y1, S1

CHEM 32 - Introduction to Medical Chemistry 4.00                Y1, S2

                                                                             TOTAL  11 - 24 units

Choose one of the following course combinations:

BTEC 15 - Career Exploration in Bioscience     2.00                Y1, S1

and 

BTEC 14B - Biotechnology Internship Support  4.00              Y1, S2

or

BTEC 21D - Introductory Stem Cell 

                    Internship Support                           4.00              Y2, S1

and

BTEC 21E - Advanced Stem Cell 

                   Internship Support                           4.00               Y2, S2

                                                                                 TOTAL 6 - 8 units

Choose a minimum of 4 units from the following electives:

BTEC 14A - Biotechnology Laboratory 

                    Techniques                                      3.00                Y1, S1

BTEC 20 - Mammalian Cell Culture                   3.00                 Y1, S1

BTEC 21A - Mammalian Cell Culture                 2.00                 Y1, S2

BTEC 21B - Fluorescent Cell Technology          2.00                 Y1, S2

BTEC 21C - Stem Cell Technology                      3.00                Y1, S2

BTEC 22 - Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent 

                  Assay (ELISA)                                        1.00               Y1, S2

BTEC 23 - Western Blotting Techniques             1.00                Y1, S2

BTEC 24 - Introduction to PCR                             1.00                Y1, S2

BTEC 25 - Analytical PCR Technology                   1.00               Y1, S2

BTEC 115 - Recombinant DNA Biotechnology    5.00               Y1, S1

BTEC 120 - Cell Biotechnology                             5.00                Y1, S2

                                                                                    TOTAL 4 - 5 units

Total 21 - 37 units

The Biotechnology Work Experience certificate program is designed to meet the need of the students to gain real-life work experience that improves their chances of finding employment and success in the biotechnology fields. The Biotechnology program has been offering internships for the qualified students since 2008.

There are several community colleges and universities in the Bay Area that offer biotechnology programs in response to the high demand of entry level workers in the biotechnology fields in the Bay Area. Ohlone College, Solano College, Berkeley City College, Contra Costa College, Laney College and Skyline Collegeall offer biotechnology training but they serve different sub regions than City College of San Francisco. These programs mostly focus on biomanufacturing whereas our program includes training for research and development. What makes the Work Experience certificate program unique is the closely supervised internship and the concurrent internship support class integrating career and professional skills. From 2015 to 2019, more than 60% of students enrolled in the internship have obtained positions in the bioscience fields. Skyline College offers a Biotechnology Manufacturing Assistant certificate program which includes an internship. This program focuses on manufacturing, unlike CCSF’s Biotechnology Work Experience program that allows the students to gain work experience in a range of bioscience fields including research and development, testing and manufacturing. San Francisco State University also offers a Biotechnology certificate including an internship. This program is 34-39 units. The cost and the length of this program makes it inaccessible to most CCSF students.