RECRUITING UNDERGRADUATES

Multiple venues exist for the Faculty to recruit new students into the Graduate School. These include the Speakers Bureau and the Target School program.

The Speakers Bureau has been offered by the Graduate School since 1994. In this program, faculty at undergraduate institutions throughout Texas, and, more recently Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico and Oklahoma, are invited to identity GSBS Faculty to visit their undergraduate institution in order to present their research. These presentations are made to regular classes of undergraduate students, to student groups or to students and faculty at departmental seminars. These presentations include not only the research of the GSBS Faculty member, but also include GSBS recruiting slides, illustrating the opportunities available at GSBS for graduate studies. During the visit, the GSBS Faculty member may also meet separately with a group of students to discuss, in a more informal setting, graduate study at GSBS.

The Target Schools program was instituted in 2001 to establish and nurture a “pipeline” of students from specific “Target Schools” to the Graduate School. A cadre of 25 GSBS Faculty were each asked to identify a specific institution within the continental US with a high number of high quality undergraduate students with a potential interest in careers in biomedical research. These GSBS Faculty were than asked to contact the advisor(s) of these students in order to acquaint them with GSBS. The goal of this program is to establish a long-term relationship between GSBS and these undergraduate schools through the GSBS Faculty member. To maintain this relationship, the GSBS Faculty member would correspond with the faculty advisors on a regular basis, indicating an interest in any undergraduate student with interests in biomedical research. The GSBS Faculty member would also travel to their respective Target School every second or third year to present a seminar and speak with the students and faculty at that institution.

More informal avenues for recruiting also exist for GSBS Faculty. Graduate and professional career fairs are often held by undergraduate institutions. GSBS Faculty are frequently asked to “man a booth” at these career fairs in order to speak with undergraduate students who visit the booth, and distribute brochures and data sheets related to GSBS.