Results of surveys and studies suggest that too few African-American and female students aspire to and achieve doctoral degrees in biological sciences. It has also been suggested that gender and racial inequities exist in teaching and research faculties in higher education, especially in the biomedical sciences. Thus, few role models are available to encourage young students to seek courses or careers in these fields. The purpose of the Graduate Achievement Program (GAP) is to identify and recruit talented minority undergraduate students who demonstrate financial need and to provide a summer institute designed to introduce them to the opportunities and excitement of careers in the biomedical sciences. GAP was designed to provide educational resources to bolster learning abilities, build academically on the educational foundation already present, provide the opportunity to actively participate in all aspects of biomedical research, and familiarize students with the demands of graduate school through interaction with doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows. The current paper is a description of the first year of GAP including recruitment, program activities, curriculum, student descriptions, schedules, student evaluations of the program, goals and objectives, and future directions of GAP. Appendices include student demographics, student percentile ranks on Woodcock-Johnson Subtests, GAP weekly schedule of events, and a list of presentations made by GAP students. Contains 29 references. (Author/MKR)