CSULB MD Alumni Research Program

Funded by a CSULB MD Alum, the goal of the CSULB MD Alumni Research Program is to support undergraduate students who plan to enter and succeed in medical school programs.

Eligibility

• Declared major in CNSM
• Interest in pursuing MD
• Joined the HPAO (Health Professions Advising Office) on CSULB Events & Orgs
• Have attended a Pre-Health 101 workshop or will attend by June 2025 start date
• Secured a faculty research mentor

Program Details

• June to July 2025 (8 weeks)
• Hourly compensation
• Participate in weekly learning community covering research and pre-med topics

Application Components

The application will ask for the following components:

1. Primary Application Form
2. Identify Faculty Research Mentor
3. Explain Prior Experience
4. Faculty Recommendation
5. Application Statements
6. Supporting Documents

1. Primary Application Form

Please fill out the Primary Application Form, which includes questions about your GPA, education goals, and education history.

2. Identify Faculty Research Mentor

You will be asked to list up to three potential faculty mentors you would be interested in working with. Please note that this does not guarantee you will be matched with a listed mentor. It is highly recommended that you initiate contact with potential mentors before the application deadline to ensure a good match.

How to Find a Research Mentor

Information about potential faculty mentors and their research can be obtained by searching the CSULB website, or use the links below:

• CSULB Undergraduate Research Mentor Directory
• CSULB Faculty Research Experience and Expertise (FREE)
• Individual departmental web pages

3. Explain Prior Experience

You will be asked to explain any prior experience you may have, including research experience, work experience, community service, scholarships and awards, and patient contact or clinical experience.

4. Faculty Recommendation

A complete application requires a recommendation from a faculty member. The program prefers a recommendation from an instructor familiar with your work in the field you expect to study/research.

Some tips about asking for a recommendation:

1. Inform your recommender ahead of time that you will be listing them as a reference.
2. Let them know that they will receive an email with a link to complete the online recommendation form (about 8 questions) and have the option to upload a formal letter of recommendation.
3. Let them know that the email will have "CSULB MD Alumni Research Program" as the sender (coming from Qualtrics). Additionally, they can look for the subject: "Recommendation request for CSULB MD Alumni Research Program."
4. Complete your application well ahead of the deadline so that your recommenders have plenty of time.

5. Application Statements

You will be asked to respond to the statement prompts below. Use these statements to share who you are with the review committee.

1. Briefly describe your motivation for pursuing a career in medicine.
2. Please describe any prior research-related experience and/or the areas of research you are curious or passionate about. Research-related experience can include mentor/professor-directed research or participation in science fairs or clubs, or any other activity (e.g., class) that required data collection and analysis. Please describe the project(s) and your contribution to it (them). Please note that having such prior experience is not a requirement for possible engagement in the program.
3. Being successful in a research environment requires one to be persistent when challenges arise. Please give an example of a challenging situation where your persistence allowed you to be successful. This example does not have to be school-related.
4. We believe that everyone "brings something to the table" from their own personal experiences that can be used to benefit and strengthen our communities. Please describe a quality or personality trait you have that you can use to strengthen your community.

Each statement should be 250 words maximum. Tailor your statements to the CSULB MD Alumni Research Program. We highly recommend that you craft your statements in a text processing program (such as Word) before you start this application, and then copy-paste your statements in the the appropriate fields in this application.

6. Supporting Documents

You will be asked to upload the following documents in PDF format:

1. unofficial transcript
2. degree plan / list of required courses

Unofficial Transcript

Provide a PDF of your transcript showing all courses, units, and grades from all post-secondary institutions. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable provided they are up to date. All pages should be combined into one document.

CSULB students can access unofficial transcripts in their MyCSULB account or visit Student Academic Records.

Degree Plan

We would like to see a list of courses you will have left to complete as you enter this program. Keep in mind you must have at least 12 units/semester to be full-time.

CSULB students can use a copy of their current "Degree Planner," available from their MyCSULB account. Once you are in your Degree Planner, there is a hyperlink on the top right of the page for you to click that says "Print". Click that and select print to PDF. For more information, please see CSULB Degree Planner.