The Initiative for Maximizing Student Diversity Program, IMSD, (formerly known as MBRS) provides undergraduate and graduate students with the opportunity to receive an in-depth experience in the academic and experimental aspects of biological research. Funded through the National Institute of Health, the undergraduate IMSD program consists of a summer research institute during the summer and laboratory research projects during the academic year. Graduate students receive Graduate Student Research (GSR) support and laboratory supply allotments.

MentorNet's One-on-One Mentoring Programs focus on matching women and underrepresented minorities with female or male professionals from all sectors as mentors for one-on-one, email-based mentoring (e-mentoring) relationships. MentorNet proteges are in the engineering and science fields and are community college, undergraduate and graduate students, postdocs and untenured faculty. UC Santa Cruz partners with MentorNet to provide this service to UCSC students.

The MARC (Minority Access to Research Careers) Program offers research training to participating students to help prepare them to compete successfully for entry into graduate programs leading to the Ph.D. in the biological sciences or into a combined MD/Ph.D. program. Funded through the National Institute of Health, the MARC program's goals are to increase the numbers and capabilities of minority scientists and to prepare students for careers in biomedical research and/or teaching. MARC is an honors program. Acceptance is competitive and based on above average academic preparation and performance.

Since 1994 the UCSC-MIRT (Minority Biomedical Research Training Program at University of California, Santa Cruz) sponsored by the Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health has provided training to underrepresented minority students and women who aspire to professional research careers in the biomedical sciences.

As an NSF "SURF" Fellow you will join a UCSC research team and will take part in a research effort under close faculty supervision. The first step will be to formulate the research problem, then learn the necessary techniques or strategies to vigorously pursue the problem during the summer's work. Ideally, significant results will be obtained that could be included in a research publication. We believe that students who participate in this program will mature considerably in their scientific outlook. Fellowships of $3,750.00 plus on-campus housing will be awarded.

AGEP is a program sponsored by the National Science Foundation whose goal it is to significantly increase the number of African American, Latino, Native American, and Pacific Islander students earning PhDs in the physical and life sciences, math, and engineering and to foster their interest in and commitment to an academic career. The UCSC AGEP program is designed to increase the number of graduate students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields while also providing special programs addressing the diverse and specific educational needs of incoming graduate students.

The University of California Leadership Excellence through Advanced Degrees (UC LEADS) program educates California's future leaders by preparing students for graduate education in STEM fields. UC LEADS identifies promising upper-division undergraduate students who have experienced conditions that have adversely impacted their advancement in their field of study.