Equity & Inclusion Educational Resources

Promoting Excellence through Diversity

The University of Rochester is a community that welcomes, encourages, and supports individuals who desire to contribute to and benefit from the institution's missions of teaching, research, patient care, performance, and community service. The University of Rochester embraces diversity of all kinds and is mindful of all aspects of human differences such as socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, language, nationality, sex, gender, identity, sexual orientation, religion, geography, disability and age.

Our office closely works and shares resources with the University's Office of Equity and Inclusion to cultivate a culture of inclusive excellence at both our School of Medicine and Dentistry and overall Medical Center.

Below is a list of educational opportunities that may be available to you if you are a member of a group that is under-represented in the School of Medicine and Dentistry. We encourage you to consider an application to our school and recognize our commitment to helping you succeed. UR Welcome Here. 

Programs

• PREP
  The Post-baccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP) is designed to encourage students from populations underrepresented in science and medicine who hold a recent baccalaureate degree in the biomedically relevant sciences, to pursue a research doctorate, and to prepare these trainees for careers as outstanding research scientists and leaders in the biomedical community. PREP Scholars receive a re-location award of $1,000. In addition to their stipend.
• Summer Scholars
  The Summer Scholars program is designed to encourage students from populations underrepresented in science and medicine who are interested in a PhD degree in the Biological, Biomedical, or Health Sciences and for students with a potential interest in attending graduate school at the University of Rochester. The summer program will provide enhanced research opportunities to promising undergraduates, so as to encourage these students to pursue graduate education and careers in the Biological or Health Sciences. Travel funding is provided for students who are outside of the Rochester regional area.

Scholarships & Other Funding

• Graduate training for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students: When being fair benefits all
  We are committed to training the best graduate students for extraordinary futures in biomedical research - and that includes graduate students who are Deaf or hard of hearing (D/HH).  A newly funded T32 diversity training grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences  will support fifteen D/HH graduate students (enroll up to 3 new incoming PhD students per year) for their first three years. We are committed to supporting students and their mentors to make scientific research training more equitable, provide opportunities for all promising scientists, and enable them to overcome the hidden obstacles on their way to success by providing unique academic and career training.  Program participants can be enrolled in any PhD graduate program at URMC.  
• URSMD Meliora Scholarship
  This prestigious and generous scholarship will be awarded to one or more incoming PhD students who demonstrate exceptional promise for success at UofR. The Meliora Scholarship provides a one-time award during the first semester in addition to the standard full-tuition PhD scholarship, stipend, and paid health insurance. Awardees are notified at the time of admission and are nominated by faculty reviewers.
• Clinical Medical Technology program full scholarship The Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine is proud to offer an up to one annual scholarship, representing the full cost of tuition for a student who meets select criteria. The scholarship is contingent on acceptance into the Clinical Medical Technology Advanced Certificate Program. Visit the program page for more details and to apply.
• Menegus Scholarship for BS/MS Immunology, Microbiology, and Virology programThe Department of Microbiology and Immunology is proud to offer up to one annual scholarship, representing 50% of the cost of tuition, for a student who meets select criteria. The scholarship is contingent on acceptance into the BS/MS Immunology, Microbiology and Virology Program. Visit the program page for more details and to apply.
• Application fee waiver
  An offer for all students meeting selected criteria to have their application fee waived to any PhD, MS, or Adv Cert program regardless of their application date. Email gradadm@urmc.rochester.edu for more details.
• MS Medical Pharmacology program scholarship
  In an effort to meet strategic priorities toward enhancing diversity among our student body, the MS in Medical Pharmacology program offers scholarships representing up to 35% of tuition for students who meet select criteria. Admission to the MS Medical Pharmacology program is required for consideration.
• PhD Re-location Funding
  Incoming PhD students are eligible to apply for limited re-location awards. Funding is not guaranteed and an application is required. Accepted PhD students will receive further information via email on how to apply for a limited re-location award as available. Students from disadvantaged backgrounds receive an automatic re-location award.

Research

You'll find cutting edge research on hundreds of topics undertaken by several thousand students, postdocs, and faculty researchers at the University of Rochester, fueled by over $140M in annual grants from NIH and additional funding from other granting agencies.

Visit our Research Newsroom to catch the latest headlines and check out these few projects below that exemplify our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion through our collective work.

• Researchers in the Department of Public Health Sciences are collaborating with several organizations to study whether songwriting can improve cholesterol, health, and motivation for patients with high LDL cholesterol.
• Researchers across multiple labs affiliated with our PhD Toxicology program, currently investigate the impact of environmental contaminants on health and are discovering growing evidence that racial disparities contribute to the larger risk assessment picture in relation to exposures and access to health care.
• Recent studies by the Portman Lab, affiliated with the PhD programs in Biomedical Genetics and Genomics and Neuroscience, suggest that the assignment of biological sex at the molecular and cellular level is dynamic and flexible, rather than binary and static. This work, carried out in the nematode C. elegans, was recently published in Current Biology. Learn more in the NeURoscience blog post: Study: Biology Blurs Line Between Sexes, Behaviors.
• Neuroscience faculty Patricia White conducts research on hearing signaling and restoration. Read about her projects. MD/PhD Neuroscience student Ian DeAndrea-Lazarus holds a grant from the National Center for Deafness and Communication Disorders for his research work. Learn more in the NeURoscience blog post: Student Spotlight: Ian DeAndrea-Lazarus.

Additional Resources

Equity & Anti-Racism Action Plan

Student Clubs and Affinity Groups

URMC Faculty Out and Ally list