To provide deeper and longer exposure of bright, underrepresented minority students to biomedical science, the University of South Carolina has formed a consortium of HBCUs to provide a stream of potential applicants to a proposed new PREP program. The PREP program will increase the level of qualified URM applicants to our graduate programs by offering minority students the opportunity to work full-time in biomedical research laboratories while preparing for Graduate School. The cooperating HBCUs will provide a large pool of students, well educated in the theory of biology but deficient in research exposure. The specific goals of the PREP program are: 1) To recruit qualified underrepresented minorities with a Bachelor's degree in a bio-medically relevant field to participate in active, funded research programs. 2) To improve research skills of PREP scholars through active laboratory participation in a mentored relationship with a faculty member and with graduate students/postdoctoral fellows. 3) To improve the analytical, English and quantitative skills of all students through hands on training, special course offerings (including GRE preparation), and participation in seminars and journal clubs so that all PREP scholars have competitive GRE scores to enter a well-respected graduate program as a doctoral student. 4) To help the students establish relationships among peers and faculty at USC and elsewhere in the research community so that the PREP scholar has well-defined career goals.
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