Drexel University, lead institution for the Greater Philadelphia Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation, will sponsor the alliance?s 7th Bridge to the Doctorate Program (BTD) during the 2010-2012 academic years. The university has advanced a strategic commitment to develop interdisciplinary research programs that will play an important role in continuing to build the research enterprise. The advent of a Major Research Initiative (MRI) program initiated in FY 2006-07 was designed to advance Drexel?s research strengths and will serve the research interests and futures of BTD participants.
The goals of Philadelphia LSAMP's BTD Cohort VII program are to: (1) recruit 12 students into Master's programs at Drexel; (2) retain 100% of these students through the completion of the Master's degree; (3) transition fellows into the doctoral track of their STEM specialty with competitive fellowship support; (4) graduate 100% of the cohort with the PhD; and (5) monitor their progress into research active careers
The long-term impact of this investment will (1) increase the number and competitiveness of students from underrepresented groups entering STEM Ph.D. programs and persisting to the terminal STEM degree as well as increase the number of STEM professionals entering the professoriate; (2) advance knowledge in the STEM disciplines through the promotion of interdisciplinary research activity and the dissemination of information about best practices used to promote the retention of students from underrepresented groups; and (3) enhance the infrastructure for research and education through the development of support networks and partnerships within the Philadelphia alliance and beyond.
Drexel University, as a representative of the Greater Philadelphia Region Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (Philadelphia AMP), was awarded funding from the National Science Foundation for a two-year period for an LSAMP Bridge to the Doctorate (BTD) Cohort VIII program, to expand and intensify the consortium’s on-going efforts to substantially increase the number of qualified African American, Hispanic and Native American (hereafter referred to as "minority") students entering graduate study in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), attaining doctoral degrees, and moving into the professoriate. A salient feature of this project was the fundamental manner in which the BTD Cohort VIII program rested on a solid foundation of partnerships, resources, effective practices and experiences derived from fifteen (15) years of collaboration, cooperation and concerted efforts focused on minority student achievement under the Philadelphia AMP and BTD Cohort I-VII programs hosted by the University of Delaware (Cohort I), the New Jersey Institute of Technology (Cohort II), Drexel University (Cohort III), Delaware State University (Cohorts IV, VI and VII), and Temple University (Cohort V). Drexel University was selected among its Alliance partners to host the BTD Cohort VIII activities because of its historical success in achieving the objectives of the BTD program with regard to Ph.D. productivity and scholarship under its previously funded BTD Cohort III program. This success, which continued under the BTD Cohort VIII program, has also helped to shape Drexel’s newly funded BTD Cohort XI program which began in September 2013. In particular, the BTD Cohort VIII program has functioned to substantially increase the number of qualified African American, Hispanic and Native American students entering graduate study in STEM, and preparing to attain doctoral degrees. It has assisted BTD fellows with the development of laboratory instrumentation skills, research presentation techniques, research ethics, and the development of inter-personal skills needed to successfully navigate graduate STEM education. As of August 2013, eleven (11) or 85% of the thirteen (13) BTD program participants were retained through the program’s completion; one student was academically dismissed from the program due to poor scholarship, and one student withdrew due to unforeseen family circumstances. Of the retained students, to date, nine (9) students have successfully completed Master’s degree requirements, and two (2) students have chosen to suspend their graduate careers to accept professional STEM employment opportunities. As of Fall 2013, of the retained students, eight (8) students are currently enrolled in Ph.D. programs, six (6) of which have already attained Ph.D. candidacy. To date, two BTD Cohort VIII students are recipients of the prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) award. Three students have also received the NSF GK-12 Fellowship. The remaining two Ph.D. students are currently being supported through research / teaching assistantships and other departmental funding. During the life of the program, BTD students were also engaged in both national and international research activity, as well as professional development activities. Through the Alliance’s collaborative effort with the New York City LSAMP, one BTD Cohort VIII student conducted research in civil engineering in 2011 at the Graz University of Technology in Austria. In 2012, one BTD Cohort VIII student also presented his research in chemical engineering at the Gordon Research Conference in Italy. In February 2013, through continued funding through the NSF GK-12 program at Drexel University, two BTD Cohort VIII students also travelled to Kenya to visit schools and to teach high school students courses in engineering and science. BTD students have also co-authored research papers published in scientific journals. The BTD Cohort VIII program helped to generate a critical mass of minority students in STEM graduate departments at Drexel University. Additional regional funding became available to Drexel University as a result of its previous success through the HBCU STEM and National STEM fellowship programs through its collaboration with the Educational Advancement Alliance (EAA) at the time that the BTD Cohort VIII program began, which allowed twenty (20) additional minority students to matriculate to graduate STEM programs and helped to foster the development of minority graduate student professional support organizations at Drexel. The success of BTD Cohorts III and VIII has also positively impacted the University’s efforts to expand the breadth and diversity of research / investigative perspectives within the scientific enterprise. Increasing numbers of graduate programs at Drexel have actively sought to expand diversity within their populations by including programs such as the LSAMP as part of their recruitment strategies and by implementing developmental support and mentoring structures similar to those used in the BTD program. Moreover, increases in graduate student diversity have made Drexel University a stronger and more appealing recruiting entity that attracts and retains greater numbers of diverse graduate STEM students.. The Philadelphia Alliance takes great pride in being the launch site for talent which will have a national, as well as an international impact on the scientific enterprise.
