The Student Transformative Experiences to Progress Undergraduate/Graduate Professionals (STEP-UP) for cancer prevention program is a multidisciplinary initiative led by the Cancer Prevention and Control Program faculty at the University of Arizona Comprehensive Cancer Center. It is uniquely designed to provide Undergraduate and Masters’ degree-seeking students with an intensive, 10-week summer research experience in cancer prevention and control. The program fills a gap in our web of training opportunities for students, and yet builds on a substantial foundation of purpose-driven efforts at the UA and the Arizona Cancer Center to attract and retain a diverse student body in cancer prevention and control research.