NIMH Career Opportunities in Research Training Program

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This is an application to renew the successful NIH COR Undergraduate Honors Research Training Program at California State University, Long Beach to increase the number of minority students in doctoral training, to conduct research in areas of concern to NIH. The record of accomplishment over the four prior 5-year funding periods shows that the percentage of trainees entering advanced training are comparable to levels in other COR Programs and have increased over each cycle from 60 to 73 to 79 percent This program involves only the Department of Psychology, continuing the uni-disciplinary emphasis approved in the original application. The required curriculum provides breadth of training in the biobehavioral and psychosocial aspects of the discipline. The COR program supplements the formal course requirements for the psychology major; it centers around a 2 hr. weekly honors seminar during the junior and senior years which provides trainees with a pre-graduate school atmosphere, with discussion of seminal journal articles as well as oral and written presentations of their own research. An independent research project is expected each year and work as research assistants with a faculty mentor. Trainees acquire computer skills on literature searches of bibliographic databases, statistical pack-ages (SPSS and SAS), and applications such as graphical software and databases. Trainees also attend Department research colloquia and professional conferences. They receive guidance regarding graduate school applications, as well as GRE preparation. They participate in two 8-10 week summer research internships, with the pre-junior year summer held at CSULB while the pre-senior year summer is at another university. Only students with a minimum 3.0 GPA, courses in research methods and statistics, and a commitment to attending graduate school are actively recruited. Selection of new students by the Program Director and the Steering Committee is based on grades, interviews, instructor recommendations, and the match between applicant career goals and the program aims.