The mission of the Iowa Biosciences Advantage (IBA) program is to identify academically talented undergraduate underrepresented minority students with aspirations for a research career and provide them with first-rate training that will facilitate their entry into doctoral programs in the biomedical, behavioral, and biophysical sciences. Nationally, African-American, Latino/Hispanic, American Indian, and Pacific Islander groups are regarded as underrepresented in these fields. While underrepresented minorities comprise 25% of the U.S. population, only 5.8% of earned science and engineering doctorates in 2004 were awarded to underrepresented people of color. It is imperative that programs in academic research create a more inclusive community of scholars and faculty, and IBA is contributing to that paradigm shift.
By the time IBA Scholars graduate, they are strong candidates for top graduate programs in the sciences. Those admitted to the IBA Scholar Program:
- Receive one-on-one mentoring from UI research faculty
- Prepare for a PhD education through hands-on research experience, seminars and conferences
- Gain an insider's familiarity with the UI's highly ranked PhD programs
- Are eligible for financial support for travel to science conferences where they present their research
- Receive hourly wages for laboratory research (year-round) and on-campus room & board (summer)
The program faculty represent a broad range of disciplines in the basic and biomedical sciences including Anatomy & Cell Biology, Biochemistry, Biology, Biomedical Engineering, Chemistry, Genetics, Microbiology, Neuroscience, Pharmacology, Molecular Physiology and Psychology.
How are students selected for this program?
There are two ways a student can apply for admission - as an entering first-year student, or during the undergraduate career either as a transfer student or as a UI student.
