Initiative for Maximizing Student Development at UC Berkeley
The Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD) Program at the University of California, Berkeley aims to identify and train the next generation of research leaders and innovators in biomedical and behavioral sciences. The program supports both graduate students (Graduate Fellows) and undergraduates (IMSD Scholars and Summer Researchers). It is a comprehensive program that integrates research, mentoring, academic and social support and professional development that prepares participants to enter and successfully complete Ph.D. programs in the biomedical and behavioral sciences. The UC Berkeley IMSD Program aims to promote excellence and diversity in the sciences. Its founding principles, philosophy, and design are inspired by the undergraduate Biology Scholars Program (founded 1992) and an ad hoc biology graduate student organization at UC Berkeley in the 1990s that provided a forum for students committed to science and social justice. The overall goal of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) IMSD program is to increase the number of students from groups underrepresented in the biomedical and behavioral sciences who complete Ph.D.'s in the biomedical and behavioral sciences. The UC Berkeley IMSD is funded by a grant from the (NIGMS) of the National Institute of Health (NIH).
