Program Eligibility
- United States citizen or a permanent resident
- Academic classification as a rising sophomore, junior or senior attending an accredited U.S. college or university
- Minimum overall GPA of 3.0
- Individuals from groups that have been shown to be underrepresented in biomedical research:
- African Americans/Blacks
- Hispanics or Latinos
- American Indians or Alaska Natives
- Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders
- Women
- Persons with disabilities
- Individuals with disabilities, who are defined as those with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities
- Individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, defined as those who meet two or more of the following criteria:
- Were or currently are homeless, as defined by the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act
- Were or currently are in the foster care system, as defined by the Administration for Children and Families
- Were eligible for the Federal Free and Reduced Lunch Program for two or more years
- Have/had no parents or legal guardians who completed a bachelor's degree
- Were or currently are eligible for Federal Pell grants
- Received support from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) as a parent or child
- Grew up in one of the following areas:
- a) a U.S. rural area, as designated by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Rural Health Grants Eligibility Analyzer, or
- b) a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services-designated Low-Income and Health Professional Shortage Areas (qualifying zipcodes are included in the file).
- Only one of the two possibilities in #7 can be used as a criterion for the disadvantaged background definition.
- Eligibility as defined by NIH at https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-20-031.aspx