Texas A&M University System?s (TAMUS) Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Bridge to the Doctorate (BD) Program is a collaborative effort between the National Science Foundation the TAMU College of Science and the College of Engineering. The program prepares students to meet the challenges of completing doctoral programs of study and for academic careers in higher education and develops leadership skills necessary to succeed as young students from underrepresented populations in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce nationally and internationally.
Integrating research and education, the BD fellows will be nurtured over two years as a cohorted community that will benefit from a program of academic and personal development activities as well as social support to sustain their commitment and success to the terminal Ph.D. STEM degree. Program activities include linkages to the NSF-funded Integrative Graduate Education in Research Training (IGERT) in the area of Next Generation Computations and Analytical Tools for Material Science and student mentoring opportunities under several undergraduate research and education projects. Leadership training, proposal writing and training in ethics are modules within the two-year fellowship program.
A total of 12 students from underrepresented minority populations in STEM fields will participate in the program at Texas A&M University during the 2009-2010 academic years. Results from this support will broaden the participation of African-Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, and Pacific-Islanders in the STEM pipeline, U. S. workforce and abroad. Results from rigorous evaluation of the project will add to the body of literature in the recruitment and retention of underrepresented minority students in STEM fields.
