Purpose

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Undergraduate Scholarship Program (UGSP) offers competitive scholarships to students from disadvantaged backgrounds who are committed to careers in biomedical, behavioral, and social science health-related research. The program offers:

 Scholarship support

 Paid research training at the NIH during the summer

 Paid employment and training at the NIH after graduation

Scholarship Requirements

 U.S. citizen, national or qualified non-citizen.

 Awarded to students committed to pursuing a career in biomedical, behavioral or social science health-related research at the NIH

 Must have a GPA of 3.5 (on a 4.0 scale) or be within the top 5 percent of your class.

 From a disadvantage background. Disadvantaged background means that your financial aid office has certified you as having “exceptional financial need “(EFN), as defined by the Federal Government.

 Enrolled or accepted for enrollment as a full-time student for the 2010-2011 academic year at an accredited, 4-year undergraduate institution.

Research Training at the NIH

 10-week summer laboratory experience. After each year of scholarship support, students will train for 10 weeks as a paid summer research employee in an NIH research laboratory. This employment occurs after receipt of the scholarship award.

 Employment at the NIH after graduation. After graduation, students will continue their training as a full-time employee in an NIH research laboratory. Student must serve 1 year of full-time employment for each year of scholarship.

Award

The scholarship will pay up to $20,000 per academic year in tuition, educational expenses, and reasonable living expenses to scholarship recipients. Scholarships are awarded for one year and can be renewed up to four years.

Deadlines

 Online application opens mid-November, 2010

 Application deadline/Application closes February 28, 2011

 Interviews for admission, Summer, 2011

 Award notifications, July-August, 2011.

Scholarship Website:https://www.training.nih.gov/programs/ugsp