Project Summary/Abstract
California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH), a public 4-year, Hispanic- and Minority-serving
institution, home to a diverse community of learners and educators, proposes to offer a well-structured U-RISE
program that will provide personalized guidance, organization, and support for its scholars by “meeting each
student where they are” through individual student-centric approach. The proposed program leverages
successes of various previously funded NIH MARC-USTAR and RISE programs at CSUDH and draws upon
relevant current academic interventions in the literature to offer a personalized, well-structured training plan to
prepare students for future biomedical or behavioral science research workforce. The specific aims of the
proposed U-RISE program at CSUDH are:
Aim 1. U-RISE Scholars Performance. Offer a personalized and well-structured program that will
facilitate acceptance into and completion of a Ph.D. program in biomedical or behavioral science.
Aim 2. Impact on other CSUDH Students. Involve non-U-RISE CSUDH students in relevant activities
to foster interest in pursuing Ph.D. degrees in biomedical and behavioral sciences.
Aim 3. Program Dissemination and Showcasing. Share best practices and results nationally;
strengthen both intramural and extramural U-RISE program’s visibility to motivate other students to follow this
path and to promote building institutional capacity.
Based on prior RISE program outcomes, we project a minimum success rate of about 60%–65% scholars
entering Ph.D. programs by the end of the U-RISE cycle covered by this proposal. This number is significant
considering that many of our scholars are first generation college students who do not have role models who
have gone on to biomedical or behavioral science research careers. However, we are confident that our
proposed project has the structure and personalized attention that will lead us to exceed the projected success
rate. Overall, the U-RISE program at CSUDH (Fall 2020 enrollment of 17,763) will impact its cohort of students
directly and other students in U-RISE related disciplines indirectly by empowering a highly diverse pool of
undergraduates to first complete their bachelor’s degree, then transition into—and, finally, complete—
research-focused advanced degree programs in the biomedical or behavioral sciences.