Earning Criteria

• Badge earners attended 5 or more Professional Development Workshops, providing the tools and resources to clarify next steps on the research pathway. Workshops: Making an Impact with a PhD; Maintaining Mental Wellness and Emotional Self-Care; Pathways to Health Equity; Applying to Graduate School; Demystifying Discipline Specific Skills; The Researcher's Tools of Communication and Transformation; Budgeting and Planning for Student Researchers; Navigating Fellowships and Graduate School Finances
• Badge earners engaged with Doctoral Scholars (Leadership Alliance program alumni who received a PhD or MD/PhD and work in academia, industry, or government) throughout the program. These conversations expanded professional networks and provided diverse perspectives on applying research and scholarship to social justice issues and health disparities. Sharing career trajectories affirms, empowers, and motivates earners to pursue research careers based in a variety of career sectors.
• Badge earners visited 4 or more Leadership Alliance member institutions at virtual recruitment events, broadening their understanding of and increasing their preparedness for competitive PhD programs in multiple disciplines. Presenting institutions included Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Montana State, New York, Princeton, Tufts, Yale Universities, Xavier University of Louisiana, Dartmouth College, CU Boulder, UMBC, UMiami, UPenn, UVA, UChicago, and Weill Cornell Medicine.