myCSUSM
About the program
The BEARS (Building Early Awareness and Research in Science) Program at CSUSM is a scholarship program federally funded by the ESTEEMED (Enhancing Science, Technology, EnginEering, and Math Educations Diversity) program at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The goal of this NIH program is to support educational activites that enhance the diversity of the biomedical research workforce. At CSUSM, our program (called BEARS) supports a select cohort of first-year undergraduate students interested in bioengineering and biomedical research.
Who are the scholars?
Our BEARS scholars are first-year students interested in biomedical and bioengineering research and can come from a variety of majors - biology, biotechnology, electrical engineering, software engineering, math, applied physics, chemistry, or biochemistry. Each cohort of students completes a two-year paid program that has activities and research at CSUSM and UCSD, including workshops and mentoring programs, from the summer before staring at CSUSM through the summer after their second academic year. As this NIH program aims to increase diversity in the workforce, there are certain eligibility criteria - please see the eligibility criteria.
What exactly is bioengineering?
Curious about what bioengineering (BioE) or biomedical engineering (BME) is? The video below is a great introduction to these related fields and career opportunities. At CSUSM we don't have a specific major in either BioE or BME, but instead students get a broad education in one of the majors listed above.
