“The Importance of Summer Research for Graduate School Decision-Making”

In order to overcome the ever-widening gap of representation of racial and ethnic minorities as educators and leaders in the academic arena, a concerted effort must be undertaken to train, mentor and otherwise encourage students along the entire academic career pathway. The Leadership Alliance, by means of its Summer Research Early Identification Program (SR-EIP) provides the opportunity for students underrepresented in the research careers to experience the work and environment of some of this nation’s top research institutions. Through the one-on-one research mentorship and ancillary training experiences, students obtain career-affirming knowledge that assists them in decision-making about enrolling in and persisting in graduate programs. SR-EIP also provides students with the opportunity to become a part of a growing scientific network of scientists, researchers and administrators from diverse background who are supportive of their success in the academic arena. Through these activities, and in conjunction with our national symposium, the Alliance contributes to achieving the societal goal of increased representation of underrepresented individuals as scholars and leaders of American universities and colleges of the future.

Why is the Alliance Unique?

Our uniqueness comes from several aspects:

1. We are single program hosted at multiple institutions, with a variety of sites in both public and private institutions. Also, the size of the cohort at each institution can vary from as small as five people to as large a 30 or more. Despite variations in size and site, the Leadership Alliance maintains a uniform set of expectations across the programs.

2. Students can apply to multiple sites in one common application: Students can indicate their preference to conduct research at four of the 19 research sites of differing partner institutions. 3. While emphasizing biomedical research, we include students from all academic disciplines and fields. This broad range of disciplines among our students allows student to experience that many of the fundamental sciences are interdisciplinary. They also learn to appreciate that applied research and social sciences contribute to the translation of developments in biosciences.

4. We reach students from a variety of institutions in terms of size and resources. Many of our students are not participants in federally-funded undergraduate research programs or from institutions that do not have a critical mass of underrepresented students. Thus the Leadership Alliance provides them with an opportunity for summer research and direct information about Ph.D. programs.

5. The summer program is linked to its own national symposium. The Leadership Alliance National Symposium (LANS) provides every student with the opportunity to present their work, and participate in workshops dedicated to skills building and technical assistance. The symposium also aids in the formation of a network among the participants.

Taken together, the Leadership Alliance is unique in offering all these features in a single, comprehensive program. The value-added benefit of the Alliance resides in the variety of settings in which students’ research is conducted, and the ancillary scientific, social, and networking activities that are incorporated in the overall program.