Are you passionate about research that can help shape the future of public health and healthcare with Native American communities? The UNM Center for Native American Health in partnership with the UNM Research, Arts & Design Network have designed and are sponsoring an opportunity to help you explore your passion!

If you are pursuing a career in the health professions, public health/public health policy, health science or medical research, Native American Studies, or a related field, we invite you to apply for this UNM undergraduate fellowship. As a Research Fellow, you will learn and demonstrate your knowledge about the critical factors influencing Native American health, healthcare, public health, and health research.

This fellowship equips you with invaluable, hands-on experience that will help prepare you to address the vast unmet needs of Tribal communities for a culturally-responsive healthcare and public health workforce. You will learn the foundational principals of engaging and action-oriented health research to achieve health equity with and for Native American individuals and communities. You will explore an expanded vision of your health career including environmental health, public health and healthcare policy, health self-governance and sovereignty, and health research. You will also have the unique opportunity to share your insights with fellow UNM and Tribal and Community college students as well as the broader public, promoting a collaborative approach to health.

Join us in this impactful initiative and be a key contributor to the advancement of public health and healthcare in Native American communities. Together, we can make a lasting difference!

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until Monday, December 1, 2025.

Fellowship experiences will include:

Weekly Group Meetings: Throughout the Spring 2026 semester, you will meet as a group every week. The Fellowship will feature a combination of workshops or activities focused on core concepts and skills necessary to successfully conduct health research with Native American communities, and lectures by accomplished Native American, and others, who are community and academic-based research practitioners, public health/policy experts, and healthcare practitioners/scientists.

Meetings will be conducted via Zoom on Tuesdays from 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM, with the exception of holidays and university closures.

Engagement with Native American and Other Health Professionals: You will have the opportunity to engage with healthcare and public health professionals, policy experts, and researchers from Native communities throughout the semester. These interactions will provide compelling insights and perspectives that are crucial to understanding the foundational determinants of Native American health.

Fellowship Research Plans: Throughout the semester, you will design (but not implement) your own unique research project. This plan will include:

• Your research question, or the hypothesis you would test, and why it is important
• The title of your research project
• A brief description of how you would conduct a literature review, how you would access publicly available data sets (if needed), and what technology you might use
• Your timing and approach to engaging Native American leaders, researchers, stakeholders and practitioners in helping design, oversee and implement an ethical research study
• How you would collect reliable and valid data or information, how you would determine the type of data (qualitative and/or quantitative), and how many participants you would include in your research project
• How you would collect reliable and valid data or information, how you would determine the type of data (qualitative and/or quantitative), and how many participants you would include in your research project
• In broad general terms, how you would collect and analyze your data
• How and with whom you would share your findings

You will meet with program mentors as often as needed to finalize your research plan. You will then present this plan at the UNM Undergraduate Research Opportunity Conference on Friday, April 17, 2026.

Please note that you will not implement your research project as part of this fellowship. Health research projects require more than one semester to design and implement, including receiving approvals from numerous organizations that ensure research integrity. However, by designing a research project through this fellowship, you will learn key concepts that will inform your future creation or use of health science research.

Alternative Project(s): Each student may opt to implement one of two alternative projects instead of a Research Plan.

• Option 1: Conduct and present an analysis and description of three published public health research studies.
• Option 2: Analyze and evaluate one major public health policy or position administered by a government body or agency.

Fellows Compensation and Selection

This is a popular and highly competitive opportunity! A total of 20 students will be selected to participate as Health Research Fellows in the Spring 2026 semester. We aim to ensure that at least 50% of the selected participants are Native American students, harnessing their expertise to provide peer education to non-Native students.

Each selected student will receive a total stipend of $500, disbursed in two installments: $250 at the beginning of the semester and $250 at the conclusion. UNM students will receive these stipends as Department Awards, which are similar to grants and count as financial aid. Departmental Awards will be directly deposited into student bursar accounts.

Eligible applicants include students who are enrolled full-time (12 credits or more) in an undergraduate degree program at the University of New Mexico (any campus), a New Mexico Community College, or a New Mexico or Arizona Tribal College or University.

We invite students from diverse academic backgrounds to apply. However, priority will be given to those pursuing careers in the health professions, public health policy, or health research, as well as those with aspirations related to environmental health research, advocacy, or public policy.

We welcome applications from undergraduate students at all levels, including first-year, sophomore, junior, and senior students. Our goal is to achieve a balanced cohort of Health Research Fellows.

Grade Point Average (GPA) will not be a determining factor in the selection process. Applicants who have faced challenges in their educational journey that may have impacted their GPA are encouraged to share these experiences in their application and to state how they will manage an additional academic activity. Demonstrating resilience in overcoming adversity can be a valuable asset to the cohort.

The selection of Health Research Fellows will involve a holistic review of each applicant's motivation, particularly their commitment to serving Native communities, readiness to engage in meaningful dialogue, strengths they bring to the cohort, and experiences related to community service and volunteerism. It is important to recognize that “community service” encompasses a broad definition, including caregiving for aging family members and friends.

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until December 1, 2025.

How can this fellowship benefit your career?

• You will learn the importance and approaches to ethical research that engages the community and public policy on Native American Health issues.
• You will build peer and professional connections to others who are committed to healthy Native American Communities.
• You will recognize how to leverage your knowledge and experiences to advocate for health equity at multiple levels and in collaboration with key stakeholders.
• You will meet Native Community Leaders who are actively engaged in setting public health and research policy, especially in the realm of substance use disorders.
• You can list the fellowship on your resume and on applications to graduate schools.

What essay questions will be on the application form?

• What profession will you pursue? Please describe your career goals, including plans for graduate school if applicable. Describe how your future career might include engagement with Native American health, communities & individuals. (2500 character maximum)
• Please describe any personal and academic strengths you bring to the Fellows cohort. Strengths could include, but are not limited to: growing up as a member of a Tribe, Pueblo, Nation, or urban Native American community; knowledge of and/or participating in Traditional Healing; experience conducting or assisting on a research project; familiarity with public policy or a health issue; video production skills; written communication or public speaking skills; appreciation for working in groups; strong commitment to working in Native communities after college; speaking multiple languages; international education experiences; and many others! (2500 character maximum).
• Please describe your experiences with research, community engagement, service and/or volunteerism. We encourage you to think broadly when describing your experiences. You may initially think that caring for a grandparent does not qualify as service, but it absolutely does. We are interested in learning how you interact with your community, including your extended family. An experience does not have to be formal (for instance, an internship at a local clinic) to be life-changing. (2500 character maximum)
• In 1200 characters or less, summarize why you would like to participate as an Undergraduate Fellow.
• Additional comments you would like the selection committee to consider. (1000 characters maximum) (optional)

Questions?

If you have any questions about becoming a Native American Health Research Fellow, please contact Tim Schroeder, Director of the UNM Undergraduate Research, Arts & Design Network, at timschroeder@unm.edu.

Contact

For more information, please contact Tim Schroeder, URAD Director, at timschroeder@unm.edu