The proposed Duke PREP program is designed to increase the number of minority students that eventually enter Ph.D. programs by tapping into an important pool of minorities, namely those that have some interest in science but are not sure graduate school is right for them or that have some deficiency that would hinder their success in graduate school. The program has been carefully designed to improve a variety of skills relevant to succeeding in graduate school, including technical laboratory skills, comprehension of scientific knowledge, logical and quantitative skills, oral and written presentations, and socialization within the scientific/academic community. PREP scholars will spend time engaged in a research project within a carefully selected and supportive laboratory, and the other time in formal and informal coursework and other activities relating to academic and career development. In many ways, the PREP program takes advantage of the activities and administrative mechanisms of the existing Duke Summer Research Opportunities Program (SROP), which brings minority undergraduates to the Duke campus for a 10-week summer research experience. Both programs have the same general goal of increasing the number of minority students in Ph.D. programs in the biomedical sciences, and eventually in the scientific academy. The PREP scholars will be encouraged to take advantage of the full two-year experience, as long as they perform at an acceptable level and maintain an interest in pursuing a career in science.
