The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), a doctoral degree granting Research I University, will join in a consortium with seven Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) in Alabama and Mississippi for the purpose of significantly increasing the number of underrepresented minorities receiving doctoral degrees in the science, mathematics, and engineering (SME) fields and entering the professorate. All proposed consortium members are also members of the Alabama Alliance for Minority Participation (AAMP) Program, an NSF sponsored alliance with the goal of increasing the number of underrepresented minorities receiving Bachelors degrees in SUE disciplines. The Alabama AMP program has produced a large pool of minority students who are potential graduate students. The HBCU consortium members and the AW program will serve as "feeder institutions" for the Alabama Minority Graduate Education (AMGE) Program. More precisely, the AMGE Program will do the following:
1. Provide graduate school awareness activities on each HBCU campus. These activities will include seminars, guest speakers, and a SNE Annual Graduate Education Day. 2. Establish a Graduate School Preparation Program on each consortium campus. This program will include a GRE Preparation Short Course, graduate school assistance activities, a travel assistance program to encourage SNE undergraduates to attend professional meetings with faculty, and a Graduate Bridge Program. 3. Provide recruitment and admission activities that will lead to guaranteed admission for MGE recruited students. 4. Establish a coordinated mentoring and advising program with assistance from the newly appointed Director of MGE Student Support Services. 5. Provide a supportive environment by means of a vigorous retention effort and use of the UAB Black Graduate Students Association. 6. Leverage NSF funds and MGE efforts with the UAB funded Comprehensive Minority Faculty and Student Development Program. 7. Increase the number of underrepresented minorities enrolled in SME Ph.D. programs at UAB from the current 41 to a minimum of 100 by the year 2003. 8. Provide innovative support to MGE participants to insure that each MGE participant receives the Ph.D. degree in SME fields within a reasonable period of time.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham has a documented track record of supporting minority students. The university will provide up to four $15,000 Fellowships each year to MGE recruited students as cost sharing. The fellowships will be renewable each year for four years,
The Alabama MGE Program will have enrollment goals and doctoral degree conferral goals. During the first year it is expected that at least 16 students will enroll in graduate school in SME departments. After the first year the program will be fully established and it is expected that graduate enrollment numbers will increase by at least 20-25 per year. Retention efforts are the key to degree conferral. Consequently, program expectations are that each MGE student enrolled will receive a Ph.D. degree within a reasonable period of time. The MGE Program will assist graduates with finding suitable faculty positions at colleges and universities.
