The Colorado Alliance for Minority Participation (CO-AMP) has thus far matriculated four cohorts of underrepresented minority students through the LSAMP Bridge to the Doctorate (BD) program. The first three cohorts matriculated at Colorado State University (CSU), the lead institution for the CO-AMP alliance, whereas the fourth BD cohort matriculated at Colorado School of Mines (CSM). The fifth cohort, if funded, will matriculate at the University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver). As the only urban, research-intensive institution in the Rocky Mountain States, CU Denver offers a unique training experience in a wide range of STEM disciplines. Program Goals: A cohort of 12 BD fellows will be recruited into this program for each of two years using a wide range of strategies. The Program Coordinator, along with members of the Management Team, will advertise the BD program using Web-based media, flyers, brochures and direct communication. Particular attention will be given to 1) current CU Denver STEM undergraduate and Masters students, 2) other higher education institutions in the CO-AMP alliance, 3) four Native American tribes in Colorado and the Four Corners region, 4) all LSAMP alliances nationwide, 5) national meetings such as SACNAS and ABRCMS, and 6) visits to targeted programs and electronic postings to GradSchools.com. The Program will be administered by a Management Team, which includes individuals who are nationally recognized for their efforts in diversity and inclusion. The Team will meet regularly with all BD fellows to assess their overall satisfaction with the program as well as gather feedback for areas of improvement. Importantly, once per semester, individual one-on-one meetings will be held with each of the BD fellows to assess their academic progress and career development. These academic progress and mentoring meetings will continue throughout the entire program of study for all BD fellows. The program is designed to provide a series of career development courses and workshops to facilitate their successful completion of the program and preparation for careers in academia and related professions. Examples of such career development programs include: teaching preparation, ethical conduct of research, scientific writing, and a broad array of related career development workshops. Furthermore, regularly scheduled meetings of the local BD cohort, as well as annual meetings with all BD fellows in the CO-AMP alliance will build a sense of community and serve as a venue for sharing experiences and best practices. Intellectual Merit: As the only urban, research intensive institution in the Rocky Mountain states, CU Denver offers a unique training experience in a wide range of STEM disciplines. Although the Management Team will make the BD cohort aware of all 29 STEM-related PhD training programs, BD fellows will be encouraged to matriculate into the following STEM programs where the USA job market is most promising: Mathematics and Statistical Sciences, Engineering and Applied Sciences, Computer Science and Engineering, Bioengineering, Computational Biosciences and Structural Biology. Through a well-developed series of career development courses and workshops, coupled with ongoing individual mentoring, the program will strive for successful completion of the PhD degree for all CU Denver BD fellows. Broader Impacts: Although the percentage of underrepresented minority students continues to increase at the undergraduate level, matriculation into STEM graduate programs still lags behind. Consequently, it is critical to develop programs and mechanisms that encourage underrepresented students to matriculate into STEM graduate training programs as well as the successful completion of their PhD degree. Towards that end, this program will provide regularly scheduled mentoring and academic progression meetings with each BD fellow, career development workshops, teacher preparation courses, local and state-wide community building meetings, and a range of other activities and mentoring approaches to improve the likelihood of successful completion for their PhD programs. Best practices will be applied to other campus-wide recruitment initiatives for underrepresented students, as well as with other partners in the CO-AMP alliance and national LSAMP alliances. Ultimately, the long-term goal of this and similar programs is to train and prepare a larger number of underrepresented students for careers in the STEM disciplines, where they will serve as role models for the ongoing matriculation of underrepresented students in STEM graduate programs and professions.
