Applicants must currently be enrolled full-time in an accredited public or private college or university in the U.S. or its territories, as recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

All applicants must:

• Be in good academic standing with a GPA of 3.0 or higher
• Demonstrate a committed interest to pursue graduate study toward a PhD or MD/PhD
• Have completed at least two semesters and have at least one semester remaining of their undergraduate education by the start of the summer program
• Be a U.S. citizen or have permanent resident status at the time of application

Note: Although the SR-EIP is not designed for students pursuing professional training for careers in the practice of law, business administration, clinical medicine, clinical psychology or the allied health professions, we invite applications from students interested in the pursuit of joint PhD, MD/PhD, JD/PhD, or interdisciplinary PhD programs at the University of Chicago.

Students must first be certified as eligible by the Leadership Alliance before being reviewed by the University of Chicago for possible placement in the University’s SR-EIP. The primary consideration for placing students in the University of Chicago’s SR-EIP is the matching of research interests between students and faculty members. Additional information on applying to SR-EIP can be found at the Leadership Alliance website: www.theleadershipalliance.org.

If you are not eligible for the Leadership Alliance, check out this database with other research opportunities!

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• Be specific. For example, do not say that you are interested in Cancer Research. Instead say “I am interested in the molecular mechanisms of cancer” or “I would like to investigate tumor progression and metastasis”. 
• Think of your application as a package. If you mention a previous research experience in your statement of purpose we encourage you to also include a recommendation letter from your mentor during that research experience.
• Think wisely when choosing your recommendation letter writers. The SR-EIP is a research program,when possible ask for a letter from someone that can speak to your abilities as a researcher. In the event that you have not completed research before a letter from a professor or a lecturer is OK, however, you should ask someone that knows you well or is in the research area that you are interested in doing research. 
• Follow the instructions. Read these instructions carefully https://www.theleadershipalliance.org/programs/summer-research/apply/application-instructions
  
• Complete all application components. 
  
• Devote time to your Statement of Purpose. Although this article is specifically for a statement of purpose for a graduate program application it does include some good tips. 

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