Promoting Diversity: Access and Engagement in Biomedica*

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Research has shown that institutions that recruit and graduate racial/ethnic minority students make an investment in the overall health of minority communities. Similarly, racial/ethnic minority researchers in the health sciences are likely to ask questions that impact their respective populations of origin. This will be a key long term outcome of the project. The specific aim of this comprehensive national project is to examine underrepresented student access to resources and forms of engagement that result in outcomes (skills, dispositions, and behaviors) necessary for a research career in the biomedical and behavioral sciences. The study draws on data from over 700 institutions that regularly participate in surveys at college entry, after the first year of college, and at the fourth year of college. This allows to monitor the experiences of a large number of African American, Hispanic/Latino, and Native American students at key transition points. Since institutions also receive their data on entering freshmen, and can participate in subsequent follow-ups, another aim is to encourage campuses to use the data and share findings on their own campuses with faculty in related disciplines. In an attempt to encourage broader conceptions of talent and its development in preparation for research careers, a study of introductory courses will also help determine whether students' grades are associated with the skills and dispositions needed for research career.