Applications are being accepted for the 2011 UNCF/Merck Science Initiative Research Scholarships and Fellowships through Dec. 1, 2010. Each award can be from $30,000 to $92,000.

According to the UNCF, the program is "dedicated to supporting the training of world-class African-American biological and chemical scientists and engineering toward achieving the complementary goals of national economic competitiveness and social diversity."

Applications must be submitted online at http://umsi.uncf.org.

Know a Mississippi State undergrad student interested in basic science and technology innovations that could be applied to the security mission of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security? The federal agency is taking applications for its scholarship program through Jan. 5, 2011. Applicants must be U.S. citizens.

The DHS scholarship funding will be available for fall 2011, and includes full tuition and monthly stipends, as well as a 10-week summer internship at a federal research facility or DHS Center of Excellence.

Complete information is available online at http://www.orau.gov/dhsed.