UCLA's Maximizing Student Diversity Program (MSD, formerly Minority Scientist Development Program) is the centerpiece of a group of integrated activities to support the academic and professional development of a large cohort of predominantly underrepresented minority undergraduate science students. First year students are recruited to the Program for Excellence in Education and Research in the Sciences (PEERS), which supports academic achievement and encourages participation in research. The Biomedical Sciences Enrichment Program (BISEP) trains the most promising PEERS students (and some others) in the conduct of research, how to read the scientific literature, and the techniques of modern biomedical research. These well-prepared students are assisted in obtaining research positions and are supported by the CARE Fellows and Scholars Programs, which provide financial support and additional training in research skills. The best of these students become MARC U*STAR, DC LEADS (University of California Leadership Excellence through Advanced Degrees), or Howard Hughes Undergraduate Researchers. Others become MSD Scholars, who participate in an advanced journal club and prepare an undergraduate thesis. Transfer students, who rarely have the research backgrounds for the most competitive programs, are supported through the CARE Fellows, Scholars and MSD Scholars Programs. These core activities are supplemented by continued and intense personal academic and career counseling, participation in workshops to enhance academic skills and to prepare students for graduate school in the sciences. ? ? The goals of the MSD Program are (1) to have 90% of MSD program participants complete baccalaureate degrees in a life or physical science; (2) to have 50% of PEERS students take part in a faculty-mentored research experience prior to graduation; (3) to have 50% of BISEP and MSD research students complete a significant research project (undergraduate thesis); and (1) to have 12 MSD students enter postbaccalaureate or graduate programs leading to research degrees each year. UCLA's MSD Program has a strong history of engaging a large number of minority students who excel academically and go on to the most competitive graduate programs. We expect to do even better with continued support from NIH. ? ? ?
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