The National Institute of Mental Health - Career Opportunities in Research Education and Training (NIMH-COR) Program at Hunter College

Overview

Designed to encourage talented and highly motivated minority students to pursue careers in research, the NIMH-COR Program provides undergraduates, usually juniors and seniors, with two full years of intensive training. To prepare them for the rigors of doing research in the social sciences, NIMH-COR Program students work under the close supervision of a faculty mentor. Over the two year period,they also attend special courses and seminars to learn current theoretical and methodological approaches. By the time they have finished, the students are ready to go on to graduate school and do research on topics concerned with mental health, sociology, or anthropology.

One of the NIMH-COR Program's main objectives is to give minority students the opportunity to establish a close mentoring relationship with accomplished scholars. The students work with either members of the Hunter College faculty, or with researchers at other institutions in the academic community. Located in the heart of Manhattan, Hunter's program takes advantage of the city's vast resources, placing a number of NIMH-COR Program students in the laboratories of scientists working at universities and hospitals based in the New York metropolitan area. In consultation with the students, the NIMH-COR Program administrators identify researchers whose concerns match the interest of the program trainees. Over the years, participants in the NIMH-COR Program have had the opportunity to work with both Hunter College faculty and with faculty at such prestigious institutions as Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, Cornell University Medical Center, New York University, and Rockefeller University.

The NIMH-COR Program at Hunter College strives to achieve the following goals:

to familiarize NIMH-COR Program students with the basic assumptions, principles, and research methodologies of their major fields of specialization and to provide them with the skills they need to critically evaluate the literature using methods appropriate to their discipline in order that they be able to design, conduct and evaluate studies that test hypotheses using methods appropriate to their disciplines

to introduce NIMH-COR Program students to the differences and similarities of research strategies in the three participating disciplines

to give NIMH-COR Program students the training they need to become proficient in mathematics, writing, and computer use

to provide NIMH-COR Program students with "hands-on" research experience by having them work closely with research scientists who serve as mentors throughout the two years they are in the program

to train NIMH-COR Program students to communicate the results of their research in professional settings

provide NIMH-COR Program students with the opportunity to meet senior research scientists and educators in the fields of their interest, through seminars and research mentoring

to invite leading minority scientists to teach a mini-course during the winter break

to provide NIMH-COR Program students the opportunity to attend professional meetings in the students' fields of interest

to provide a supportive environment in which students can grow academically.

Trainee candidates must be outstanding students who are in their third or fourth year of a baccalaureate degree program and have a 3.00 grade point average (on a scale of 4.00). They must be citizens or noncitizen nationals of the United States, or must have been admitted lawfully to the United States for permanent residence and must have in their possession an Alien Registration Receipt Card (I-155 or some other legal evidence of admission for permanent residence) at the time of appointment to the NIMH-COR Program.

As part of Hunter's program, NIMH-COR Program students participate in a weekly seminar where they receive intensive instruction in writing, computer, and statistical skills. The program also sponsors a guest lecture series so that students have the chance to meet distinguished minority scholars on a regular basis. In addition to discussing their academic work, our invited speakers offer practical advice and help our students establish contact with minority scientists from all over the country.

NIMH-COR Program students each meet with members of the program's administration for individual supervision of their research and academic work and for guidance in applying to graduate school. The students also take three special courses: an introductory academic writing course during the summer before their junior year and two "mini-courses" during the winter breaks. The summer introductory course focuses on the presentation of research in a format appropriate to the various disciplines. The mini-courses are special topics seminars frequently taught by distinguished minority scholars from other institutions. The topics of the mini-course are determined by the students in the Program together with the Director and Coordinator.

During the summer between their junior and senior years, NIMH-COR Program students spend 8-10 weeks with a researcher in universities or field stations outside New York City. Since the program began, NIMH-COR Program students have gone to study at such prestigious institutions as: Harvard, Cornell, The University of Vermont, The University of Florida, U.C. Berkeley, U.C. Davis, U.C. Irvine, U.C. Los Angeles, U.C. San Diego, U.C. San Francisco, Boston University, The University of Puerto Rico, The University of Minnesota, and Stanford University. Some have ventured on research expeditions to Mexico, Brazil, or the Western United States.

To provide further training for future research careers, the program sends students to the National NIMH-COR Program Convention and to the annual meetings of academic associations, where they frequently present their work and sometimes receive invitations to publish in professional journals.

NIMH-COR Program APPLICATION

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updated 02/21/99