Starting in 2001, the National Institutes of Health funded the Minority Scholars Program at the fabled urban college in a bold attempt to graduate Black and Latino graduates who would pursue Ph.D.s, particularly in biomedical engineering, which combines mechanical engineering and medicine to create innovations in diagnosing and treating diseases.
Back-to-back NIH grants paid the tuition of participating students and provided stipends, summer research slots and, in the last five years, mentors and tutors who were Ph.D. candidates in biomedical engineering. The stipends of $9,000 to $10,000 a year allowed the students to attend City College full-time without having to work. To stay in the program, students had to maintain a 3.0 grade point average.
