The Florida-Georgia Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation, under the leadership of Florida A&M University, Bridge to the Doctorate (BD) program at the Unversity of Florida (UF) during the 2010-2012 academic years supports 16 post-baccalaureate students from underrepresented minority populations. Twelve of the students will be supported at the University of Florida through NSF support for stipends and cost of education. The remaining 4 students will be supported through institutional resources. Students will be integrated and supported through NSF projects such as the Southeast Alliances for Graduate Education in the Professoriate (SEAGEP), the Integrative Graduate Education Research and Training program (IGERT), the Innovation through Institutional Integrtion activity, and other research and education projects.
The UF Graduate School directs the program with the assistance of the four UF colleges with STEM disciplines: the Colleges of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Engineering, Agricultural and Life Sciences, and Medicine. UF is strongly committed to increasing diversity at all levels, with a particular emphasis on enhancing diversity in PhD programs and expanding the PhD student population.
The BD program at UF ensures Fellows at least five years of support. It provides a variety of professional development components to help retain the participants and facilitate the Fellows' transitions into the scientific workforce. BD Fellows will benefit from the support of the campus community that is committed to providing the participants with the assistance they need to complete their PhDs and make the transition into professional careers in STEM fields.
The following are outcomes anticipated as a result of activities provided by and associated with the BD: (1) Students gain insights into the professoriate through working closely with a mentor soon after entering the graduate program. (2) Students are better educated in pedagogical and instructional techniques and are able to apply these skills to communicate their research to diverse audiences. (3) Students gain a greater appreciation of the interdisciplinary nature of their research, how to build collaborations across disciplines, and how to work in teams. (4) Students are more aware of how their research may link to industrial applications. (5) Students are better prepared to identify and address ethical issues of research. (6) Students are better prepared to enter the global workforce. (7) Students are better able to conduct broader impact activities.
Broader impacts are present in the overall design and structure of the UF Bridge to the Doctorate Program. By design, the UF Bridge to the Doctorate program broadens the participation of underrepresented students in STEM fields. The impact of the program will be enhanced by fostering an atmosphere of collaboration and peer support among students by linking the fellows with the various NSF programs for underrepresented groups currently on campus and by engaging more students from underrepresented groups in graduate programs. Through linkages with numerous K-12 classroom activities, the program encourages youth and incoming college students to consider STEM disciplines and careers.
Many of the BD Fellows assisted the Office of Graduate Minority Programs in several activities/events: on and off campus recruitment efforts, assisting with our semi-annual UF Campus Visitation Program, Welcome Back events and volunteering at the Graduate Student Grants and Fellowships Conference in May of 2013. Their participation was greatly appreciated as they served in several major capacities while helping the office serve over 300 graduate students to attend this daylong event. During the daylong event they received valuable information on the following items: National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, National Institutes of Health Fellowship, National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grants, Social Sciences Fellowship Grants, Humanities Fellowships and Grants, Arts Fellowships and Grants, Ford Foundation Fellowships, International Funding for Domestic Students-Fulbright U.S. Scholars Program and Funding Opportunities for International Students Applications. The following BD Fellows: Miguel Lugo Ortiz, Blayne Phillips, Christopher Alexander, Ricardo Valladares, Veronica Llaneza, Jorge Medina, Omar Saucedo, Jared Jones and Jeremy Magruder were stellar examples of the different type of involvement of the fellows in the Graduate Studies at UF. These BD Fellows met with the UF STEM undergraduates in the McNair Scholars Program to discuss how it is in graduate school and the necessary steps that they should take to be ready for graduate school. In 2013, the BD Fellows continued to prosper from the relationships they formed in their first summer on campus as participants in the summer bridging program for PhD students and prospective PhD students. During the summer term, many of the BD fellows participated in the six-week Summer Program sponsored by UF Graduate School (OGMP) to prepare students for the expectations of graduate study. This BOE program consist of PhD students who enroll in research methods and scholarly academic writing courses along with 4 subsidized credit hours of graduate coursework in their majors. The program also sponsors workshops on choosing a mentor and other graduate-student related topics. The participants also engage in cohort-building activities to aid new students in getting a successful start in Graduate School. Activities are also planned to help the students learn their way around the university and the community. Overall for this BD 2010-12 cohort group has been extremely successful while matriculating at the University of Florida!
