The long term goal of the MARC U*STAR program at The University of New Mexico is to increase the number of underrepresented minority honor students obtaining the doctorate and entering careers in biomedical research. The immediate goal is to increase the competitiveness of our best minority students for graduate programs. The heart of this program is the opportunity for ten talented minority undergraduates in Biochemistry, Biology and Chemistry to receive intense research training in their junior and senior years. A pre-MARC Student Development component addresses problems that present major obstacles to the success of UNM students, including poor curriculum planning and inability to participate effectively in an electronic world. The emphasis on academic and career guidance will be continued as MARC students move through the program. During the first summer, they will begin a research project and participate in many group learning activities, capped by an end-of-summer student Research Symposium, at which all will present their work. During the subsequent two academic years, the students will continue their research projects and present their projects at a local and a regional or national meeting. It is expected that most will becomes co-authors on a scientific publication. In their first year as MARC scholars, the students will take a class entitled """"""""Research Ethics"""""""" and a GRE preparation class. During their second year, students will take a small class that focuses on identifying an appropriate graduate program and developing a competitive application, and then apply to graduate school. As an added feature of the program, the students will spend one summer at another institution (typically their second summer), where they will carry out collaborative research that is related to their project. A strong independent evaluation component has been established, so that the efficacy of the program can be demonstrated. Continuation of this MARC U*STAR program will have enormous impact on a highly qualified group of minority students.
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