The University of Iowa (UI) Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology has developed a program to recruit and retain members of under represented minorities into its Ph.D. training program. The goal of this program is to fortify the pipeline between the UI and institutions that serve large numbers of minority students. This program has established a direct link at the departmental level with Howard University (HU) and Our Lady of the Lake University (OLL). The faculty at HU and OLL working with UI faculty select students who participate in the program. UI faculty serve on the student's Masters Thesis committees and the students have the opportunity to work in their UI mentor's laboratory during the summers and as needed during the academic year. Each student will have a plan of study which will be designed to optimize preparation for doctoral level study. In addition the program will coordinate Research Methods courses offered by the three institutions and sponsor a series of video-tele-conferences linking the UI with HU and OLL. Students and their mentors will also travel to national professional meetings together to further the students' enculturation into the research community. Students who successfully complete their Masters programs in this program will be admitted into the UI doctoral program and receive a Graduate Opportunity Fellowship. Key to the long term success of this program is the development of direct faculty to faculty enduring contacts between UI faculty and their counterparts at HU and OLL.
