The Biochemistry Undergraduate聽Research Scholar聽Award (BURSA)聽provides support for undergraduate students who are majoring in Biochemistry at the University of Colorado Boulder, in order to reduce financial barriers that may prevent students from obtaining appropriate research support. Recipients will be students who are pursuing research opportunities in laboratories of faculty members who are rostered in the聽Biochemistry聽department.聽To be eligible for funding, students must agree to the following expectations:
- Must be committed to doing laboratory research.
- Must remain in strong academic standing (minimum of 3.0 cumulative GPA) for the awarded terms.
- Encouraged to participate in department-wide meetings and symposia.
To be eligible for funding, students must meet the following聽requirements:
- Must be聽majoring in biochemistry.
- Must have/maintain a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA.
- Undergraduates are not expected to have prior research experience or pre-select a mentor.
The AY 2023/2024 BURSA was awarded to聽Ian Horswill, Ashley Jung, Victoria Kiss, Ian Kitchen, and Riley Long.
AY 23/24 BURSA Recipients
Ian Horswill
Ashley Jung
"The BURSA聽scholarship is meaningful to me as it has聽given me the opportunity to pursue a prestigious聽degree to prepare me for medical school. The award allows me to pursue additional activities, such as in-lab research, that will support my medical school application and advanced studies."
Victoria Kiss
Ian Kitchen
"Receiving the BURSA was meaningful to me because I saw it as a sort of mini-success聽that was indicative that I could have other successes within biochemistry. Also, it was a sort of validation and confirmation that I was on the right聽track.聽I think what helped me get the scholarship was my interest in pursuing biochemistry further by identifying a specific area of research in which I was interested and then聽working in a research lab."
Riley Long
"It took some time for me to feel comfortable and ingratiate聽in the scientific community but the BURSA scholarship helped solidify my feeling of belonging and furthermore my feeling that the work I was doing mattered. In some institutions, it seems as though undergraduates aren't given the independence of real scientists but between the loving community and financial support opportunities from the institution, it feels like we are granted the same respect and encouragement that we need to become the best scientists we can be."