California State University San Marcos MARC U*STAR Program

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The CSUSM MARC-U*STAR Program will increase the pool of underrepresented racial and ethnic minority students who pursue research careers in the biomedical sciences. Our Primary Measurable Objective is to place 100% of our MARC Scholars (MS) into graduate school and monitor/support completion of their Ph.D. Our Program has six goals. The goals include creation of a large pool of MARC Program eligible students through a set of Pre-MARC activities, Enhance Academic Performance, Enhance Scientific Communication Skills, Enhance Computational Skills, Participation in Biomedical Research, and Graduate School Application/Admission/Retention. Six MS will participate in the program. Each year, 3 MS will be juniors selected from the Pre-MARC program, or juniors entering from community colleges, and three will be seniors- all chosen and retained using rigorous standards. MS will participate in a set of activities designed to make them competitive for admission to first-class graduate schools. These activities include participation in a challenging curriculum supported by several academic support services, participation in skills development workshops, research training, research seminars, and supervised original research leading to scientific publications. MS will develop strong skills in critical thinking, problem solving, writing and oral communication, leadership, and teamwork. Finally, MS will participate as a group in a year-long set of activities designed to support completion of their graduate school application and placement in graduate school. Our Evaluation Plan provides measurable objectives and assessment criteria for each project goal using formative and summative evaluation. As of May 2006, 12/16 MS graduates have gone on to graduate school or post-graduate studies for a 75% placement rate (one Ph.D. completed in 2006). In addition, we expect 3 current MS to be admitted to graduate school for fall 2007 making our placement record 16/20 (80%). The MORE MARC Program's goal and the CSUSM strategic plan are in perfect alignment. The regional minority population growth, the campus commitment to diversity, the success of the current MARC Program, the supportive faculty, the experience of the program director, the existing MBRS SCORE, RISE and Bridges Programs, and new science buildings with modern scientific instruments and powerful instructional resources collectively make CSUSM an ideal location to operate a successful MARC Program.