MINORITY MENTAL HEALTH RESEARCH SCHOLARS PROGRAM

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This competing renewal application request support for the Minority Mental Health Research Scholars Program (MMHRSP) that is sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health - Career Opportunities in Research (NIMH-COR) Education and Training Program at Morgan State University, Baltimore. The major long-term goal of the MMHRSP is to increase the number of qualified minority students who enter graduate studies leading to mental health research careers. Accordingly, 5 highly talented honor students from the departments of psychology (3 per year) and social work (2 per year) are selected to participate in an intense research-training program designed to enhance their research skills and competencies in biomedical and behavioral science research. Students qualifying for the MMHRSP must: have completed 45 semester hours with a GPA of 3.0 or better on a 4.0 scale; be a citizen of the United States or have permanent residence status; and provide evidence that supports their potential to successfully pursue and complete advanced graduate training in mental health related disciplines. Trainees are provided with a myriad of opportunities to augment their research knowledge and professional development as future mental health research scholars. In addition to the basic requirement in their field of study, trainees are actively engaged in: 1) a 20 credit-hour research-based curriculum that provides theory, methodology, data analysis, ethics training, research and grant application development, and individual scientific presentations; 2) a host of supportive curricular and professional development activities designed to enhance their confidence and ability at the graduate level; 3) a summer research internship at a major research institution under the direction of a preceptor conducting mental health-related research; and 4) supervised training experiences whereby students commit 10-15 hours a week as a research assistant, working with a faculty preceptor conducting behavioral research at Morgan State University. These activities are designed to strengthen our students' research knowledge and ability to perform solid research; enhance academic readiness for Ph.D. level graduate work; establish a cadre of networking and support mechanisms; and lastly, facilitate career opportunities in the mental health profession. Regular multilevel assessments are implemented to ensure the program's effectiveness in achieving the desired goals and objectives.