California State University (CSU) Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (CSU-LSAMP) Bridge to the Doctorate (BD) Program (cohort 9) is a collaborative effort between the National Science Foundation and California State University institutions to increase the quality and quantity of underrepresented minorities matriculating to completion of the doctoral degree in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields (STEM) fields. The program at California State University, Northridge prepares students to meet the challenges of completing doctoral programs of study and for academic careers in higher education. In addition, the program develops leadership skills necessary for success in the STEM workforce nationally and internationally.
Integrating research and education, the BD fellows are nurtured over two years as a cohort community that benefits from a program of academic and personal development activities as well as social support to sustain their commitment and success to the terminal Ph.D. STEM degree. Program activities include linkages with Graduate Education in the Professoriate (AGEP) institutions and other graduate education programs to advance students in Ph.D. programs.
Twelve students from underrepresented minority populations in STEM fields will participate in the program at California State University, Northridge during the 2011-2013 academic years. Results from this support broadens the participation of African-Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, and Pacific-Islanders in the STEM pipeline globally. Results from rigorous evaluation of the project adds to the body of literature in the recruitment and retention of underrepresented minority students in STEM fields.
The project anticipates that at least 95% of the new participants will complete Master's degrees, and that at least 90% of these students will earn STEM doctorate degrees. This project not only targets a student population that might not otherwise pursue doctoral level training, but also makes a special effort to target STEM disciplines that have relatively low overall doctorate degree production and the lowest shares of URM students. In these disciplines (specifically, geological sciences, physics and astronomy, mathematics, engineering, and computer science), small increases in the number of doctorates awarded to URM students will have a significant impact on discipline demographics.
BD project activities include a variety of valued "best practices" for supporting and advancing LSAMP students. Specifically, the project provides the following: - rigorous Master?s-level course-work - a two-year research experience with the guidance of a faculty mentor; - professional development workshops and activities, including participation in scientific conferences; - monthly meetings to monitor student progress, - networking with other BD Fellows in doctoral programs, and - provide assistance with graduate school and fellowship applications.
Project Description: This project (HRD- 1139803) is an NSF-LSAMP "Bridge to the Doctorate Activity" (BD) associated with the California State University-Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (CSU-LSAMP). California State University, Northridge (CSUN) one of the 22 California State University campuses in CSU-LSAMP served as the "graduate institutional site" for this BD Activity. The specific goal of the project is to broaden participation in STEM at the doctoral level by providing a Masters level "bridge" to doctoral studies for a cohort of 12 new Masters students recruited from the national pool of baccalaureate recipients from LSAMP programs. Since the pool of LSAMP baccalaureate recipients includes a high proportion of talented individuals from racial/ethnic groups that are underrepresented in STEM, this project aims to bring this talent and diversity to academe and science research. Overall, this project’s expected outcome is that no fewer than 8 of the 12 students who participate in the project will complete STEM doctoral degrees. While this number may seem small, the project targets a student population that might not otherwise pursue doctoral training and also targets STEM disciplines that have relatively low overall doctoral degree production and the lowest "shares" of students from underrepresented minority (URM) groups. In these disciplines (e.g., geoscience, physics, computer science; 3% of all doctorates earned), small increases in the number of doctorates awarded to students from URM groups will have a significant impact on discipline demographics. Project Activities: Project activities included a variety of valued "best practices" for supporting and advancing LSAMP students toward completion of doctoral level studies in STEM. Specifically, project support/activities include: (1) substantial financial support for the initial two years of Masters-level study; (2) rigorous graduate-level course-work; (3) a two-year research experience; (4) professional development activities (e.g., workshops, seminars, conference participation); (5) monthly meetings to monitor student progress; (6) "connecting" Fellows to doctoral programs through collaborations with faculty and programs at Ph.D. institutions; (7) assistance with applications to Ph.D. programs, financial aid and fellowship programs; and (8) leveraging linkages with Ph.D. programs to encourage program interest in admission of CSU-LSAMP BD Fellows into Ph.D. programs. Outcomes: CSU-LSAMP continues to find that the BD model it has developed is an effective strategy for advancing the goal of broadening participation in STEM doctoral-level study. This model, which provides financial, academic and professional development support at the Masters level, has proven successful in recruiting, retaining, and advancing talented minority students who, otherwise, would be unlikely to pursue doctoral level study. The project was successful in attracting a full cohort of twelve (12) talented graduates of LSAMP undergraduate programs to the CSU-LSAMP Bridge to the Doctorate Activity at CSUN. The cohort was diverse in terms of baccalaureate institutions of origin, race/ethnicity, and disciplinary interest. The cohort included graduates of 8 different institutions, including 7 California State University campuses and 1 University of California campus. As reported by the students, the racial/ethnic make-up of the cohort included: 1 American Indian, 3 Asian, 1 Black, 6 Hispanic, and 1 non-Hispanic White student. The disciplines represented included: the geosciences (1), physics/astronomy (3), mathematics (4), engineering/computer science (2), and biological sciences (2). All 12 students successfully completed two years of graduate study at the Masters level. At the time of this writing, it is expected that nine (9) students (75%) will be completing Masters degrees in two years. Of these students, five (5) have been accepted for admission to Ph.D. programs for Fall 2013. One additional student, who was accepted to a Ph.D. program for Fall 2013, decided not to complete the Masters degree. Of the nine (9) students graduating in two years, four (4) have not yet been accepted to Ph.D. programs. Of these, two are reapplying in Fall 2013 and another will be applying to medical school in Summer 2014, and one student has opted to go to work upon graduation. Two more students are expected to complete the Masters degree in 2013-2014, and will be applying to Ph.D. programs for matriculation in Fall 2014. In summary, CSU-LSAMP is confident that eleven (11) students will complete the Master’s degree (the 12th student has decided to advance directly to a Ph.D. program without completion of the Masters). It is anticipated that ten 10) students will admitted to Ph.D. study, and one (1) to an M.D. program. And, while it is too early to report on the level of success in the Ph.D. programs, the project anticipates a Ph.D. completion rate of 80%.
