The Northeast Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (NELSAMP) has chosen the University of Connecticut (UConn) as the site for the 2014-2016 Bridge to the Doctorate (BD) Activity. The UConn BD Activity will demonstrate that a proactive, intensive, results-oriented campaign to recruit, prepare, mentor, train, and support doctoral candidates from traditionally underrepresented populations in the STEM disciplines will contribute to resolving social, economic, and technological challenges that currently face the United States. For the U.S. to remain competitive globally, it must provide exceptional educational preparedness in STEM areas that underpin the knowledge-based economy. Students from underrepresented groups in STEM are a critical piece in solving the ongoing puzzle of how to reinvigorate the nation's global technological primacy.
UConn will recruit and support 12 doctoral students from African American, Hispanic and/or Native American populations who are graduates of LSAMP Alliance institutions with BD Fellowships for the first two years of their graduate studies in STEM disciplines at UConn. Structured activities for the BD Fellows include developing focused plans of study and detailed roadmaps of academic milestones; participating in professional skills development workshops; having opportunities for mentorship/volunteering; and receiving career preparation. In addition, UConn will refine and expand its Husky Bridge to the Doctorate STEM Program website. Through innovative STEM research projects in cutting-edge areas such as biomedical engineering, environmental and human sustainability, and nanotechnology, UConn will train outstanding scientists and engineers. The diversity of perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences of the BD Fellows will contribute toward breakthroughs in meeting society's grand challenges.
