The University of Michigan has an NIH-funded Post-baccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP) designed to help underrepresented students who want to enter doctoral programs prepare to apply to excellent Ph.D. programs in the biomedically-relevant sciences. We hope you will let students at your institution know about this program. We are seeking students who have great potential to succeed in graduate school in the sciences, but for some reason are not quite ready to tackle the combined academic and research challenges of a doctoral program as the next step in their education. Often we expect these students will have discovered an interest in experimental science late in their undergraduate careers, or even after they graduated, and so have less extensive research experience. Since most graduate programs in the sciences now consider significant prior research essential to understanding the rigors of graduate school and a career in science, a year of post-baccalaureate research can make a significant difference in the ability of students to matriculate into and succeed in a graduate program.
Michigan PREP Benefits:
- One-year academic and research program starting July 1 each year
- Financial package including tuition, salary ($21,000) and benefits
- Over 150 potential faculty advisors from 6 schools and colleges
- Possibility to enhance the program with a UM class as advised
- Preparation course for the Graduate Record Exam (GRE)
- Participation in seminars, journal clubs, and social activities
- Workshops to enhance preparation for graduate school and fellowship applications
- Invitation to career development events
- Opportunities to present research projects and discuss career development with faculty mentors
The University of Michigan is one of the largest and best-funded research universities in the country. PREP faculty mentors are drawn from six schools and colleges on the Ann Arbor campus – including Literature, Science & the Arts, Medicine, Engineering, Pharmacy, Kinesiology, and Public Health. A more complete listing of faculty research interests can be found on the PREP web site. Beyond the scientific environment, the University of Michigan is ranked as one of the world’s great universities, providing a wide array of state-of-the-art facilities and internationally recognized scholarship. The impressive strength and diversity of music, theater and the arts as well as sporting events help make Ann Arbor one of the nicest locations in the country – routinely listed as one of the top 10 places to live by national magazines. Whether a student stays at the University of Michigan for graduate school or moves on to another institution, we are confident that they will enjoy a year in Ann Arbor.
Applications to the 2013-2014 Michigan PREP will be accepted until April 19, 2013. For more information on participant eligibility and how to apply, please direct your student(s) to the PREP web site. The PREP admissions/advisory committee will offer admission to the program in May.
If you have any questions or require additional information on our program, please contact us by e-mail at m-prep@umich.edu or myself at kfbarald@umich.edu.