In accordance with the national goals of HEALTHY PEOPLE 2000, Project L/EARN targets members of ethnic and cultural groups traditionally under-represented in health related graduate programs, with the intent of increasing the number of minority health researchers. Project L/EARN is a research training program of the Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research at Rutgers University. Project L/EARN identifies African American, Latino and other underrepresented minority undergraduates with an interest in health-related social science fields, and provides training, experience and mentoring which makes them stronger candidates for admission to relevant graduate programs.

Project L/EARN begins with an intensive ten-week summer internship designed for sophomores and juniors from ethnic and cultural groups traditionally under-represented in graduate education. During the summer students acquire research experience and an understanding of the methods and goals involved. An instructor provides daily lectures, which are reinforced by the teaching assistant with hands-on workshops. One of the major strengths of Project L/EARN is that it draws on the distinguished faculty of the Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research to serve as guest speakers and mentors. The Institute faculty are among the leaders in the fields of medical sociology, health psychology, health economics, and medical history. This impressive group of faculty provide a rich collection of resources across the social sciences. Guest speakers provide perspective on the research process, as well as the current state of the literature. These lectures are an opportunity for interns to participate in graduate level seminar discussions.

The major assignment of the course is to develop a research question, perform an appropriate literature search/review, develop and implement an appropriate analysis plan, and write a research paper, complete with methods, tables, graphics and references. The faculty mentor plays a key advisory role in the development and refinement of the intern's project. This level of interaction allows the mentor to participate fully in the intern's training and builds confidence in the intern's ability to contribute as a member of a research team. As part of their professional development, each intern presents their research to an audience of Institute researchers and professional research staff both in a poster session and in a conference presentation during the last week of the summer training program.

As one of the University's Graduate Education Preparation Programs, the interns attend graduate school application workshops and a seven session GRE review course. The opportunity to participate in these workshops serves to maximize each intern's performance on the GRE, and enhance their graduate school applications.

Project L/EARN interns continue working in research after the summer program. Some Institute faculty have several cohorts of interns participating in their research programs. Others work with a single intern until graduation and then take on a new trainee. Through these ties, faculty develop an awareness of the student's interests and strengths. Many interns continue their own research agenda in the form of senior thesis or independent studies. The relationships established with faculty researchers facilitate an informal continuation of the students' training. These relationships have made it possible for faculty to increase the students' awareness of key opportunities, such as internships, fellowships and grant opportunities (e.g. minority supplements and Undergraduate Research Fellowships), as well providing guidance in the graduate school selection and application process.