The Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program assists universities and colleges in diversifying the STEM workforce through their efforts at significantly increasing the numbers of students successfully completing high quality degree programs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)disciplines. Particular emphasis is placed on transforming STEM education through innovative recruitment and retention strategies and experiences in support of groups historically underrepresented in STEM disciplines: African-Americans, Alaskan Natives, American Indians, Hispanic Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Native Pacific Islanders. The Bridge to the Doctorate (BD) Activity provides support for postbaccalaureate studies in STEM programs leading to the STEM doctoral degree.
The University of Texas System Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (UT LSAMP) will host a Bridge to the Doctorate (BD) program at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), a Hispanic-serving institution and the lead institution of the Alliance. Twelve fellows from historically underrepresented minority (URM) groups in STEM disciplines and from the LSAMP alumni pool from across the nation will be selected to participate in the two-year program.
The proposed project builds on experiences gathered by the UT System LSAMP on the development of successful and replicable strategies to ensure that large numbers of URM students graduate with undergraduate degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and complete STEM doctoral degrees. The project at UTEP, in particular, builds on a proven mentoring model developed and tested with prior BD cohorts within the UT System LSAMP community. It promotes the maturation of the students' research and professional skills, values, and attitudes. The project results will further diversify the nation's STEM workforce. It will enable the replication of promising practices in STEM graduate education at emerging research universities for students with profiles similar to those participating in this alliance of institutions. Since 2003, the alliance has supported 118 diverse BD participants pursuing STEM M. S. or Ph.D. degrees.
Evaluative efforts will determine which interventions are needed for qualified students from underrepresented minority groups to successfully transition from their undergraduate STEM disciplines to the completion of a Ph.D. program in their field of study, at rates comparable to or exceeding those of all similarly qualified students. Outcomes will be disseminated nationally and internationally through professional research conferences, scholarly journals, institutional websites, and social media.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
