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 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.
   2. 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