ACCESS Program
For Women in Science and Mathematics
The ACCESS Program offers approximately 40 women each year some extraordinary opportunities and experiences in science and mathematics at the University of Utah.
A typical ACCESS recipient spends the summer of her freshman year with some of the brightest women entering the University of Utah. Through a specially designed course, taught by some of the university's most enthusiastic and celebrated professors, the student is introduced to hands-on experiences with real-world problems through instruction, laboratory work and team work on assigned projects. The class is designed to give participants not only valuable laboratory experience, but also a taste of each of the major sciences.
"The ACCESS program has introduced me to many wonderful people and has opened up doors of opportunity. It has helped me to become a better person and has played a large role in helping me to reach my goal of attending pharmacy school!"
--Clarissa Gregory, ACCESS 2006.
During the following semester, the participant is lined up with a professor in a field of her choice, and given the opportunity to work as a research assistant in a lab.
"ACCESS was most definitely a pivotal point in my life and I know that I would not have had the courage to take math and science in college without it. I owe where my life is headed, in a scholarly and career aspect, to the ACCESS program."
--Heather McEwen-Hatch, ACCESS 2003.
On top of all this, the ACCESS student receives a $3,500 award in addition to any other scholarships or awards she may have received from other sources. As word of the program's excellence spreads, competition to gain admittance intensifies.
In 2009, the average high school grade point average of the successful candidates was 3.97. Not only are these women academically superior, they also have strong commitments to their communities. Participants in ACCESS have served on U.S. senators' youth city councils, worked as Special Olympics volunteers, served at the Salvation Army soup kitchen, and much more.
2010-2011 ACCESS Information
Contact Us
Rosemary Gray, PhD
ACCESS Program Director, College of Science
1430 Presidents Cir. RM 220
Salt Lake City, UT 84112
(801) 581-6958
rosemarygray@bioscience.utah.edu
Lisa Batchelder
ACCESS Program Coordinator, College of Science
1430 Presidents Cir. RM 220
Salt Lake City, UT 84112
(801) 581-3374
batchelder@science.utah.edu