Bridges to the Baccalaureate Program

QCC’s Bridges to the Baccalaureate Program (T34 - Maximizing Access to Research) is a collaborative endeavor that engineers a comprehensive system of academic, research, mentoring, and career development support to empower research-oriented students to transition to biomedical baccalaureate programs. More than $1.3 million was funded to Dr Sarbani Ghoshal to set up a learning experience that will impact the academic, technical, operational, and professional development of both Bridges students and the broader population of non-Bridges students at QCC Queensborough Community College will serve as the lead institution for this five-year proposal and help participating students transfer for their higher degrees and continue pursuing research in biomedical sciences. Dr Sarbani Ghoshal, a tenure-track Assistant Professor of QCC from Biological Sc. and Geology will serve as the Project/Program Director (Contact PD/PI) of this proposal. Drs. Ruth Stark and Sanjai Pathak, Professors of CCNY and QC respectively, will serve as the co-principal investigators from the respective senior colleges.

The mission of QCC’s T34 proposal will be to train students in biomedical research and ensure transfer of participating students successfully from QCC to senior colleges, to provide support by developing and implementing effective, evidence-based approaches to research training via mentored research experiences and help them advance to careers in biomedical and behavioral sciences. Additionally, students will have opportunity to conduct summer research in one of the senior colleges as well as other reputed institutions like Memorial Sloan Kettering, Rockefeller Institution, Harvard Medical School. A total of 8 research students will be accepted per year.

Learn more about the Bridges to the Baccalaureate Research Training Program

The minimum requirement for QCC students to join the program will be completion of one year of college with eight science credits and a minimum GPA of 2.7 (B-). We plan to recruit full-time sophomores to ensure that students are college ready. The individual to be trained must be a citizen or noncitizen national of the United States or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence at the time of appointment. Students on visa will not be eligible.

Students need to commit at least one year to the program, including a 10-week summer research experience in a senior college lab. The maximum time a student can stay in the program can be 2 years. Extensive transfer counselling and professional development seminars will be provided to all participating Bridges students throughout the academic year.

Students receive an annual stipend of $14,340, distributed equally ($1195) over 12 months, August-July. In addition, each participating Bridges research student will receive a tuition coverage of $2880 per academic year and $1000 allowance for presenting in a conference. Students will be covered for up to $3000 for any travel and accommodation expenses if they decide to do their 10-week summer internship outside NYC.

Please prepare a single PDF document addressing the following points:

1. A cover letter where student should mention about potential mentor’s name, GPA, citizenship status, completion of eight science credits

2. An unofficial transcript

3. A personal statement (maximum 500 words) outlining motivation for pursuing a research career in biomedical sciences (mention about career goals, what you hope to gain from this program and your commitment to the program goals)

4. A science faculty or your mentor’s recommendation letter (can be emailed to Dr Ghoshal directly)

5. Affirmation that you will attend professional development activities (seminars and/or alumni event) & commit to a full-time research experience as determined by the mentor

The document is to be emailed to Dr. Sarbani Ghoshal, Program Director, NIH-T34 Bridges to the Baccalaureate Program, at sghoshal@qcc.cuny.edu.

Applications are now being accepted for Cohort 2 (August 1, 2025- July 31, 2026) and will be reviewed starting April 15, 2025. Applications will continue to be reviewed till all 8 training slots are filled. Students will be informed about their acceptance into the program by June 15, 2025.