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Support undergraduate students with an opportunity to explore their interest in medical research. The program is funded through the generous contributions of our donors and partners.

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Adjudication

The goal of the Faculty of Medicine Summer Student Research Program (FoM SSRP) is to give students an opportunity to engage in health research. Students should benefit from their involvement and come away with new knowledge, new skills, and a better understanding of what health research entails.

General Notes on the Adjudication Process

  • All applications are sent to an adjudication committee for evaluation. The committee is comprised of faculty members from the UBC Faculty of Medicine.
  • MD student applications and non-MD student applications are adjudicated separately and evaluated according to different criteria (see the Historical Funding information on the Funding page for details on why this occurs).
  • To be eligible for FoM SSRP funding, projects must be based on a clear and testable research question or hypothesis.
  • Since the FoM SSRP aims to provide research opportunities to all students, including those seeking a first research experience, prior research experience is not included in the adjudication criteria.
  • Equal consideration is given to all areas (basic science, clinical, health systems, population health, medical education, global health, etc.) and types of research (qualitative, quantitative, participatory, etc.).
  • Vague projects (such as participating in a large team with no specific role) will not score well.

Adjudication Criteria

Undergraduate Non-MD Students (100 point scale)

CRITERION POINTS NOTES
Student Attributes (40 points)
Academic Record (25 points) GPA = 75% = 0

GPA = 100% = 25
  • The FoM SSRP is paid out as a scholarship. To be consistent with the requirements for other UBC scholarships, applicants must have a minimum GPA of 75%.
  • The GPA will be based on the best 24 credits earned during the previous two semesters. Students who were enrolled in less than 24 credits during the previous two semesters will have grades from additional semesters included until a minimum of 24 credits are included. A continuous scale will be used to assign points to a range of GPAs. In accordance with standard UBC procedures, grades from summer courses will not be used in the GPA calculation.
  • Grades will be accessed internally and GPAs will be calculated by the FoM SSRP Coordinator. Students in non-standard programs (with grades not recorded in SIS/SSC) should contact the FoM SSRP Coordinator directly to make arrangements to obtain grades via other official channels.
Student Statement
(15 points)		 0 – poor

0-5 – satisfactory

5-10 – good

10-15 - excellent

 Positive consideration will be given to statements that address:

  • Why the student wants to be involved in research AND this particular project.
  • What the student hopes to gain – how will this research experience benefit the student in reaching their current and/or future educational and/or career goals.
Project Summary
The project must be based on a clear and testable research question or hypothesis. Projects not meeting this requirement are not eligible for the SSRP and will be excluded from the competition.		 (20 points) This section should address the scientific merit and feasibility of the proposed project. Considerations when scoring this section include:

  • Clear rationale for the proposed research approach and methodology, including the context within the relevant field of research.
  • Clear and testable research question or  hypothesis.
  • Feasibility of the research approach including the project timeline.
  • Expected project outcomes.
Benefit to the Student

Students should benefit from their involvement and come away with new knowledge, new skills, and a better understanding of what biomedical health research entails.

 (40 points) This section must address how involvement in this project will help the student gain an understanding of how high quality research is conducted. This includes addressing the opportunities to learn new skills (or develop existing skills) in the context of the following learning objectives (as applicable – not all will be applicable to all projects).

 

As a result of their FoM SSRP experience the student will gain an understanding of:

  • How to generate testable research questions and/or hypotheses
  • How to critically evaluate & analyze existing literature/data
  • The principles of experimental design
  • The ethical principles of research
  • How to critically analyze data; appropriate statistical analyses
  • Effective scientific communication (such as presentations, manuscripts, guidelines, patient learning materials, etc.)
  • Specific techniques/skills required for the project (of lesser importance in scoring than the above learning objectives)

Additional considerations when scoring this section:

  • The student’s learning objectives and role are clearly defined
  • The fulfillment of additional learning objectives (not discussed above) related to the conduct of health research
  • Student has the opportunity to interact with and learn from other researchers (will help the student gain a broader understanding of what research entails)
  • The project has strong research and educational merit
  • The project can be completed in the time available

Undergraduate MD Students (75 point scale)

CRITERION POINTS NOTES
Student Attributes (15 points)
Academic Record (0 points)
  • The FoM SSRP is paid out as a scholarship. To be consistent with the requirements for other UBC scholarships as defined by UBC Senate, students must be in good academic standing and award eligible.
  • This will be confirmed by the Student Research Coordinator in consultation with Student Affairs* of the MD Undergraduate Program.

*If you would like to know, ahead of submitting an application, whether you meet the minimum rank to apply for a scholarship, you may reach out to Andee at fao.studentaffairs@ubc.ca.
Student Statement
(15 points)		 0 – poor

0-5 – satisfactory

5-10 – good

10-15 - excellent

 Positive consideration will be given to statements that address:

  • Why the student wants to be involved in research AND this particular project.
  • What the student hopes to gain – how will this research experience benefit the student in reaching their current and/or future educational and/or career goals.
Project Summary
The project must be based on a clear and testable research question or hypothesis. Projects not meeting this requirement are not eligible for the SSRP and will be excluded from the competition.		 (20 points) This section should address the scientific merit and feasibility of the proposed project. Considerations when scoring this section include:

  • Clear rationale for the proposed research approach and methodology, including the context within the relevant field of research.
  • Clear and testable research question or hypothesis.
  • Feasibility of the research approach including the project timeline.
  • Expected project outcomes.
Benefit to the Student

Students should benefit from their involvement and come away with new knowledge, new skills, and a better understanding of what biomedical health research entails.

 (40 points) This section must address how involvement in this project will help the student gain an understanding of how high quality research is conducted. This includes addressing the opportunities to learn new skills (or develop existing skills) in the context of the following learning objectives (as applicable – not all will be applicable to all projects).

 

As a result of their FoM SSRP experience the student will gain an understanding of:

  • How to generate testable research questions and/or hypotheses
  • How to critically evaluate & analyze existing literature/data
  • The principles of experimental design
  • The ethical principles of research
  • How to critically analyze data; appropriate statistical analyses
  • Effective scientific communication (such as presentations, manuscripts, guidelines, patient learning materials, etc.)
  • Specific techniques/skills required for the project (of lesser importance in scoring than the above learning objectives)

Additional considerations when scoring this section:

  • The student’s learning objectives and role are clearly defined
  • The fulfillment of additional learning objectives (not discussed above) related to the conduct of health research
  • Student has the opportunity to interact with and learn from other researchers (will help the student gain a broader understanding of what research entails)
  • The project has strong research and educational merit
  • The project can be completed in the time available