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U-GROW Information Session
The 91ΑΤΖζ Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD) Program offers intensive, hands-on research and training experiences for upper-division undergraduate students designed to prepare them to excel in doctoral programs and health-related research careers. The 91ΑΤΖζ BUILD Program was originally created through funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) BUILD Initiative (2014-2025). The BUILD Student Training Program has been institutionalized in the Office of Undergraduate Research Services (OURS) in the summer of 2025. The program offers two tracks: a 2-year Scholars program for rising juniors and a 1-year Fellows program for graduating seniors. The program supports 20 trainees per year.
- For the 2-year Scholars Program, students must have 3 or 4 semesters remaining before graduation at the start of the program.
- For the 1-year Fellows Program, students must have 1 or 2 semesters remaining before graduation at the start of the program and prior research experience.
- 91ΑΤΖζ must be from one of the health-related disciplines in the Colleges of Engineering, Health and Human Services, Liberal Arts, and Natural Sciences and Mathematics and intend to pursue a PhD and a research career in related disciplines.
- 91ΑΤΖζ must be a US Citizen, legal permanent resident, or DACA recipient to apply and eligible to be employed by the university.
- 91ΑΤΖζ must remain full-time (enroll in at least 12 units per semester) for the duration of the program.
- 91ΑΤΖζ must be available full-time during summer (June-July) if they are accepted into the program for summer training/orientation (For Scholars, first summer only).
- Faculty-mentored Research: Trainees are matched with a BUILD faculty research mentor and participate in research under their mentorship during their time in the program.
- Summer Research: In the first summer of the program, Scholars and Fellows participate in an 8-week Summer Learning Community (βSummer Undergraduate Research Gateway to Excellenceβ or SURGE) from June to July and conduct research with their BUILD faculty mentor. Scholars are expected to participate during their second summer in a summer research internship at a research-intensive university that offers doctoral degrees (i.e., R1 university) or a research institution for research experience with another research mentor. Scholars apply for these internship opportunities in the fall/winter of the first year of the program. Those who do not get an off-campus summer internship may continue their research training with their BUILD mentor during the second summer.
- Learning Community (LC) Seminar: Trainees are required to enroll in a 1-unit LC Seminar (UNIV 395 for Year 1 Scholars and UNIV 495 for Year 2 Scholars and Fellows) each semester while in the program. LC seminars are led by a BUILD Faculty Training Director. The seminars cover a variety of topics related to summer research and graduate program application process, and professional development.
- Funding: Trainees receive hourly pay to work on research and SURGE activities (up to 40 hours/week during 8 weeks of SURGE and up to 15 hours/week during the fall and spring semesters). The Program does not provide financial support to Scholars during their second summer; however, students usually receive financial support from an off-campus research internship or their BUILD mentorβs funding.
- Responsible Conduct of Research: Trainees must complete the online basic/refresher Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) training. Additional responsible conduct of research training may be required by the faculty mentor based on the nature of the project.
- Application to Graduate Programs: Trainees are expected to apply to PhD programs in the fall semester of their last year in the program.
