In accordance with the national goals of HEALTHY PEOPLE 2010, Project L/EARN targets members of groups that have been traditionally under-represented in health-related graduate programs with the intent of increasing the number of health researchers from those groups. Project L/EARN identifies students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, first generation college attenders, and those from racial/ethnic minority groups who have an interest in health-related social science fields, and provides them with training, experience and mentoring to make them stronger candidates for admission to graduate programs. Past interns have come from a variety of majors, including psychology, sociology, economics, political science, nursing, public health, pharmacy, biology, statistics, urban studies, and public policy. Project L/EARN is open to students from any U.S. college or university. Project L/EARN is a research training program of the Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research at Rutgers University.

The summer program is an intensive ten-week internship opportunity for qualified students who would like to obtain research skills and "hands-on" experience in health services research under the guidance of a distinguished faculty mentor. Summer training often leads to involvement in faculty research during the subsequent academic year . Faculty mentors represent a diverse array of disciplines, including health economics, medical sociology, medical anthropology, public health, social work, nursing, and health psychology; all head vigorous research programs. Each intern will be matched with a faculty mentor whose work is most closely aligned with his or her particular interests, skills, and background.

The core of the summer program is daily lectures and computer laboratory sessions that provide training in research methods, study design, data management, and statistical analysis (programming in SPSS). Project L/EARN has been designated as one of Rutgers University's Graduate Education Preparation Programs . Interns will be provided with GRE preparation, as well as extensive guidance with respect to applying to graduate school.

Project L/EARN is more than a full time commitment. Consider it the equivalent of a very demanding course load and a part time job. Participants cannot take any additional summer classes or hold employment during the program period and are required to live in the campus housingprovided. Participants are required to attend all seminar series and program events (on and off-campus), meet with mentors regularly, and complete all scheduled assignments within the timeframe provided.

The internships provide students with a $4,000 stipend, tuition, and room and board for the duration of the ten-week program so that they can learn while they earn."" Students also receive 3 academic credits for the program. The summer program will run from Tuesday, May 29 through Aug. 3, 2012. Project L/EARN is directed by Professor Jane Miller and Diane (Deedee) Davis, and is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, and Rutgers University. Applications for summer 2012 will be available in late December 2011 and will be due Feb. 13, 2012.

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