🔬⚗️The application for the 2026 UBS program is NOW OPEN 🧫🔬

The Undergraduate Biotechnology Scholars Program (UBS) runs in two formats:  A ten-week summer program or a part time, academic year program. Each is aimed at providing research skills to undergraduate students interested in environmental health sciences, biotechnology or computational biology. The program involves working closely with faculty mentors and graduate students from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a Tier 1 research institution. Activities are designed to prepare students for graduate school through:

• Full participation as a research scholar in a federally funded research laboratory at the forefront of biotechnology.

• Weekly campus-based educational enrichment activities to broaden views of graduate education and research and strengthen technical skills.

• Access to workshops focused on graduate admission procedures, financial aid opportunities, preparing presentations, and exposure to a wide range of research fields.

• Informal social gatherings to provide a relaxed setting for students and faculty to exchange ideas and share experiences.

At the end of the scholarhsip experince, students present their research project and receive reviews of their data in a research poster session held at the University of Wisconsin Biotechnology Center. The overall goal is to provide real world experiences for undergraduates interested in careers in biotechnology and biomedical research.  The program is a collaboration between the UW Molecular and Environmental Toxicology Center (METC) and the UW Biotechnology Center (UWBC) and is currently funded through a grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

Program Benefits

• • Hands-on research experience in: 

    • • • Environmental Health

        • Metagenomics

        • Agriculture

        • Forensics

        • Ecology

        • Molecular Surgery

  • Academic and professional development

  • Competitive stipend

  • Health Insurance (Optional)

  • Flight and Housing (Limited availability)

Due Date

The completed application form, letters of recommendation, and transcripts must be submitted by February 15.

Application

Need Help?

If you have program-specific questions, please send them to vazquezriver@wisc.edu.

The Undergraduate Biotechnology Scholar (UBS) program is funded by NIEHS Grant R25 ES020720.