The National Alliance for Doctoral Studies in the Mathematical Sciences ("The Alliance") is an alliance of mathematical sciences faculty and students with the following goals:
1. To increase the number of doctoral degrees in the mathematical sciences among groups that have been traditionally underrepresented in these fields. 2. To improve placement of students from these groups in doctoral programs in disciplines that recruit undergraduate mathematics majors. 3. To increase the number of Ph.D.s from these groups who enter the professoriate in the mathematical sciences as well as other appropriate professions. 4. To increase funded research collaborations among faculty members at universities with mathematical sciences doctoral programs and faculty members at colleges and universities focused on undergraduate students. 5. To foster the growth of a community of mathematical scientists that promotes a diverse workforce.
The Alliance brings together more than 200 faculty from colleges and universities that serve large percentages of undergraduate students from underrepresented backgrounds and nearly 100 of their counterparts at masters and doctoral granting mathematical sciences departments. It serves more than 400 undergraduate and master's level students from families, regions, and ethnic backgrounds that have had little prior contact with the culture and profession of research in the mathematical sciences. The Alliance has had initial success and it is growing rapidly, in numbers, in programs, and in its ties to other parts of the profession. This proposal provides funds to support Alliance programming and personnel to allow the organization to create an appropriate governance structure and infrastructure to support this growth as well as to begin the critical evaluation and research that will guide the Alliance in its growth and provide data and outcomes to those who would develop such programs in other STEM disciplines.
