About the Minority Access to Research Careers Program!

Funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health the University of New Mexico’s Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) Program offers research training and support to prepare our scholars for graduate school. Our goals are to increase the number and competitiveness of underrepresented minorities engaged in biomedical research by increasing the research training opportunities for our scholars. MARC supports talented UNM undergraduates with training that directly prepares scholars for careers in biomedical research. The fields of research could be biology, chemistry, cell and molecular biology, genetics, biophysics, mathematics, pharmacology, biochemistry, bioengineering or computer science. Only five new scholars are admitted to this Honors undergraduate research program each year, which enables us to create a small supportive community of undergraduate scholars.

Eligibility Requirements

Be a full time student at the University of New Mexico-Main Campus
Cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher
Be 2 years away from graduation
Commitment to pursuing a Ph.D. in a biomedical research field
U.S. citizen or permanent resident
Member of an underrepresented group: individuals belonging to a particular ethnic or racial group
Have completed at least the first 2 years (60 cr/hrs) of the curriculum leading to a B.S. degree in the “hard sciences”

(e.g. Biology, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science, Chemical Engineering, etc)

Program Requirements

Work in the research laboratory 15 hours per week during the academic year AND 40 hours per week in the summer
Carry out a research project for 2 years under the mentorship of a faculty member in the department of your choice
Must not have any additional paid employment
Work in the research laboratory full time in the summer

UNM MARC Will Fund

Travel to scientific meetings with mentor or lab members to present your research results
GRE prep courses
One summer conducting research outside of New Mexico
Stipend of $11,628 per year for your 2 year research project (monthly stipend of $969)
UNM tuition after all other scholarships and/or grants have been applied (subject to available funding and NIH funding limits)