The University of Arizona (UA) MARC program provides unique research mentoring financial and academicopportunities to upper-division underrepresented students who have interest and potential to pursuebiomedical research careers seeks to increase the number of such students entering Ph.D. programs andprovides opportunities to engage lower-division students and help them achieve a solid academic foundation.The specific objectives are 1) to attract 150 new students per year to participate in outreach activities 2) todecrease the number of students withdrawing or earning a D or lower in General Chemistry from 25% to below20% and set a foundation for success in STEM courses 3) to have 85% of MARC trainees who enter as ofJune 2017 and complete the MARC program matriculate in PhD programs or combined-PhD programs. UAMARC trainees 16 per year are a select group of honors underrepresented students from biomedically-relevant majors in 5 colleges throughout the UA campus. Outstanding well-funded training faculty at the UAprovide opportunities for research guidance and intensive mentoring using their training experience withundergraduates and commitment to training underrepresented students. Significant mentoring also is providedby the Program Director and co-Directors. Through the Minority Biomedical Research Colloquium traineesmeet outstanding scientists from other institutions as well as former UA MARC trainees in Ph.D. programs orPh.D. graduates. Trainees attend workshops on responsible conduct of research and minority healthdisparities; take part in a scientific writing program; attend national science meetings; participate in intramuraland extramural research; present posters at campus and national conferences; give oral presentations in theResearch Colloquium and attend workshops on the graduate application process. The outreach activities ofthe UA MARC program that impact a large number of students include a Careers in Math and ScienceColloquium for incoming freshmen; a research colloquium for undergraduate students in biomedically-relevantmajors; supplemental instruction in general chemistry which gives students a solid foundation in a course thatimpacts numerous biomedically-relevant majors; and a new foundational course that promotes critical thinkingskills and mathematical reasoning to increase the success of students in STEM majors. The UA MARC traineeprogram is selective prestigious and the carrot that encourages lower-division underrepresented students todo well academically and the conduit that prepares outstanding underrepresented students to pursue careersin biomedical research.