B2BMED

Application Requirements:

1. Must have a GPA of 3.2 or above
2. Must have a US citizenship/non-national citizenship or permanent resident status
3. Must be a full-time STC student enrolled in Associate of  Biology or interdisciplinary programs
4. Submit Intent to Apply
5. Submit the following documents upon requests:
   • Personal statement (1 page single spaced max limit) which discusses the following questions:
     • What are your career goals
     • What prepared you for this program?
     • Why do you want to apply to this program?
   • Unofficial STC Transcript
   • Resume
   • 1 recommendation letter from a science instructor and/or advisor
6. Underrepresented Minorities: All individuals that meet the application requirements can apply, however, we encourage individual from groups that are underrepresented in the biomedical, clinical, behavioral, and social sciences to apply:
   1. Individuals from racial and ethnic groups that have been shown by the National Science Foundation to be underrepresented in health-related sciences on a national basis (see data at https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/showpub.cfm?TopID=2&SubID=27) and the report  Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering). The following racial and ethnic groups have been shown to be underrepresented in biomedical research: Blacks or African Americans, Hispanics or Latinos, American Indians or Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders.  In addition, it is recognized that underrepresentation can vary from setting to setting; individuals from racial or ethnic groups that can be demonstrated convincingly to be underrepresented by the grantee institution should be encouraged to participate in NIH programs to enhance diversity. For more information on racial and ethnic categories and definitions, see the OMB Revisions to the Standards for Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity ( https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-1997-10-30/html/97-28653.htm).
   2. Individuals with disabilities, who are defined as those with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, as described in the  Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended.  See NSF data at,  https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/2017/nsf17310/static/data/tab7-5.pdf.
   3. Individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, defined as those who meet two or more of the following criteria:
      1. Were or currently are homeless, as defined by the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (Definition:  https://nche.ed.gov/mckinney-vento/);
      2. Were or currently are in the foster care system, as defined by the Administration for Children and Families (Definition:  https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/focus-areas/foster-care);
      3. Were eligible for the Federal Free and Reduced Lunch Program for two or more years (Definition:  https://www.fns.usda.gov/school-meals/income-eligibility-guidelines);
      4. Have/had no parents or legal guardians who completed a bachelor’s degree (see  https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2018/2018009.pdf);
      5. Were or currently are eligible for Federal Pell grants (Definition:  https://www2.ed.gov/programs/fpg/eligibility.html);
      6. Received support from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) as a parent or child (Definition:  https://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/wic-eligibility-requirements).
      7. Grew up in one of the following areas: a) a U.S. rural area, as designated by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Rural Health Grants Eligibility Analyzer ( https://data.hrsa.gov/tools/rural-health), or b) a  Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services-designated Low-Income and Health Professional Shortage Areas  (qualifying zipcodes are included in the file). Only one of the two possibilities in #7 can be used as a criterion for the disadvantaged background definition.

What will the Program provide?

• Mentored research experience (conduct research with a UTRGV faculty or UTRGV and STC faculty team)
• Stipend support (up to $13,367 per year, $1,114 per month)
• Up to 60% of tuition and fees (STC for Year 1 and UTRGV for Year 2)
• Funding support to travel to a national research conference yearly
• Funding support to travel to a summer internship in Year 2
• Multi-level advising and mentoring
• Professionalism workshops
• Summer STEM workshop (math and science)
• Research seminars

What must I do as a B2BMED scholar?

• Apply to UTRGV and register for UTRGV BMED 3121 Independent Research I and BMED 3121 Independent Research II courses for the Fall and Spring of the second year of your associate degree
• Transfer to the UTRGV BMED program after the completion of your associate degree
• Conduct research at UTRGV (10 hours/week for Fall and Spring, 20 hours/week in the summer of 1 ^st year and 15 hours/week for Fall and Spring of 2 ^nd year in the B2BMED program)
• Attend summer internship at a research-intensive institution at the end of your 2 ^nd  Year in the B2BMED program
• Attend STEM Workshops
• Attend Professionalism Workshops
• Attend research seminars
• Attend mentoring and advising meetings
• Apply to graduate school