MARC U*STAR Training Program Application

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This application is for students who wish to participate in MARC U*STAR.

The MARC program has a total of 18 student positions that become available when students graduate or leave the program. Selection meetings are held in mid April for Summer entry, late July for Fall, and Early November for spring. Please apply for consideration during our next application period. Also- sometimes there are positions in mid-semester and if you have been pre-screened, youi could be accepted at that time.

Please note:  MARC is year-round and train students for entry into doctoral (Ph.D.) education.  It is not a summer program, but continues throughout the school year. MARC requires a committment to participate for two years. In addition, before you graduate you are expected to apply for at least 7 doctoral programs. If you are interested in Med School, do not apply for these programs.

MARC U*STAR now has two tracks: Pre-Ph.D. and Pre-Ph.D./Professional Degree (MD/Ph.D., DDS/Ph.D., etc). These have different GPA requirements (see below).

There are several absolutes that a student must fulfill to be eligible for consideration for these programs: 

Requirements include: 

___Full time student
___US Citizen or Permanent resident
___ Desire to pursue Doctoral (Ph.D.) education or combined MD/Ph.D. or DDS/Ph.D.
            This does NOT include:
                       * MD., DDS, MPH, or other professional degree without a Ph.D., even if you wish to
                                     perform research in the future.
                       * Combined degrees that require completion of two years of the professional
                                     program prior to application to the Ph.D.
                       * Professional PhDs that lead exclusively to clinical or health care practice
                                     withouth research.
___ 3.7 or higher GPA if Pre-MD/Ph.D., Pre-DDS/Ph.D., other professional combined degrees
___ 3.4 or higher GPA if Pre-Ph.D. - MARC
___ Be a Junior or senior with two full years (or more) prior to graduation at program start
___ Committment to complete the program once it is started
___ Majoring in Biology, Biomedical Engineering, Chemistry or Psychology, or any of the following majors with biomed
      research emphasis: Math, Stats, Physics, or Computer Science.
___ All A's and B's in science/math courses in the semester prior to entry.
___ Able to commit to 15 h or more to research work in Fall/Spring, 40 h in summer
___ Will enroll and complete Research Careers and Prof Skills Development course
___ Will attend an annual scientific conference
___ Will complete a Thesis (Identical to the Honors College thesis).
___ Will complete College (COS), (COE) or Departmental Honors (Psy)
___Will attend an off campus Summer research program (out of town, except by permission)
___Will complete the GRE Prior to graduation
___Will apply to at least 7 doctoral programs
 

AND Described by one or both of the following:

      __ A member of a group that is underrepresented in the sciences
                 __ African-American
                 __ Filipino
                 __ American Pacific Islander (Guam, Hawaii, Samoa)
                 __ Hispanic
                 __ Native  American/Alaskan

       OR

       __ Have Exceptional Financial Need (EFN) or family income as described below:

http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/trio/incomelevels.html

Other factors that may times considered for admission include:  

___First generation who will receive a Bachelor's degree
___Educated in a low-income school district
___Commitment to community issues
___Growing up and educated in the South Texas/Border Area.

Please note...you do not have to fulfill all of these additional factors to be a viable candidate.  

New Student Application: 

Application Advice (see Below)

• Advice for writing personal statements:
• Advice about asking for recommendations

Application

(Early consideration Application Deadline for Summer 2013 extended until Tuesday morning (April 30) at 8:00 AM!)

• You will be asked to upload:
• a personal statement
• an academic plan
• names/emails of two faculty recommenders
• Application
            

If you have questions about your application contact Ms. Ayeza Zafar (BSE 1.610, 210-458-6550, ayeza.zafar@utsa.edu) .

Continuing Student Application:

MBRS or Work Study Research Training Program students who want to apply for MARC) may fill out the following smaller application. 

• An updated personal statement with current plans.
• an academic plan
• a single recommendation from your current research mentor.

• Program Change/Continuing Student Application:

MARC-U*STAR Personal Statement

Please write several paragraphs addressing the following:

• What are your career plans?
• What are your future educational plans?
• Why are you interested in Biomedical Research?
• What/who inspired you to perform biomedical research?
• How do you think this program will enhance your ability to obtain your career goals?
• Also, include any other relevant information that you feel the Student Selection and Retention Committee should take into consideration when assessing your application.

General Advice:

Do not allow shyness or hesitation about an application prevent you from participating is these programs.  If you are strongly motivated to pursue a career in research and are having trouble with letters or other parts of your application, come and see the Asst. PD Gail Taylor (BSB 2.03.02F; gail.taylor@utsa.edu) or Ayeza Zafar (BSB 2.03.02J; ayeza.zafar@utsa.edu) for advice.  If a doctoral degree in Biology or Chemistry is your goal, our programs will benefit you greatly, both in the present by allowing you to obtain valuable research experience, and in the future with admission to special off-campus undergraduate summer research programs and doctoral (Ph.D.) programs. 

Advice on Asking for Recommendations:

You need two recommendations for this application.

1. Obtain recommendations preferably from UTSA math or science faculty members (exception: Psych students who should get at least one from a Psych professor).  TAs are not recommended.  If you have worked in or are working in a research laboratory (not a teaching lab), make sure to get one from the PI of the lab. 

2. The better you know someone, the better your recommendation is likely to be.  If you have any doubts if a person will evaluate you well, ask them whether they “know you well enough to write a strong recommendation for you.”  People don’t like writing bad recommendations and this way, you give them an easy way to turn you down rather than write a bad or very scanty recommendations.  Realize, however, that even a scanty recommendation is better than not turning one in at all or not applying. 

3. Ask your recommender as far in advance as possible- preferably two weeks at minimum.  Good recommendations take some consideration ands take a good bit of time to put together and your professors are very busy.  
4. You will provide the name and email address of your recommender when you apply. Your recommender will receive an email inviting them to send in the recommendation.
5. If a faculty member doesn’t know you very well but will work with you, you may assist them by helping them to get to know you better.  Set up an appointment and provide them with a letter detailing your future goals and the program to which you are applying, as well as a copy of your resume/CV.
6. Ph.D.’s often need to be reminded and are not annoyed if you do it politely.  Follow up with your recommenders to make sure that the letters are actually sent.  The squeaky wheel gets the oil really works in this circumstance.