The Portland Bridges to Baccalaureate (PBTB) program, a partnership between Portland Community College (PCC) and Portland State University (PSU), will increase the number of underrepresented students of color (i.e., Hispanic, Black and Native Americans) transferring from PCC and PSU to pursue academic and scientific careers in the biomedical and behavioral sciences. The PBTB program will build on an existing institutional collaboration to provide a seamless transition from community college to university for minority students who are interested in careers in biomedical and behavioral research. The proposed program will include comprehensive support services and extensive mentorship from experienced research scientists who are committed to the advancement of minority students in scientific careers. In addition to academic instruction, target students will benefit from formative research training provided by established investigators and will complete their baccalaureate degrees with a solid foundation for post-graduate work in biomedical and behavioral research. We are proposing to specifically increase by 50% from 59 students to 88 students, in the overall institutional transfer rate of students from targeted groups/populations from PCC to baccalaureate degree programs in biomedical/behavioral sciences at PSU, also 15 target students from PCC will be selected as Bridges students each year (i.e., students who will receive support in the form of salaries/wages under this program). At least 70% of these Bridges students, or 11 students, will transfer to baccalaureate degree programs in biomedical/behavioral sciences at PSU upon or before graduation from PCC. At least 75% of transferring Bridges students, or 8 students, will successfully complete their bachelor's degrees in biomedical/behavioral sciences. The rationale for this partnership is that PCC and PSU are both primary sources of public higher education in the Portland metropolitan area, and are also the most diverse higher education institutions in terms of students and faculty in the state of Oregon. The Portland Bridges to Baccalaureate (PBTB) program, a partnership between Portland Community College (PCC) and Portland State University (PSU), will increase the number of Black, Hispanics, and Native Americans pursuing careers in biomedical and behavioral research. The PBTB program builds on an existing institutional collaboration to provide a seamless transition from community college to university for minority students.
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