This request for funding for the Bridge to the Doctorate responds to the NSF Program Solicitation for current senior LSAMP Alliances. The University of California LSAMP has chosen to alternate BD host sites among the 8 UC partner campuses, and is prepared to attract students from different parts of the state and the nation. UC Santa Barbara has been selected to host Cohort V through a competitive process, including its record for minority student B.S. degree completion rates, strong research infrastructure, faculty and departmental commitment, and long-term support for the development of minority graduate students beyond the first two years. Funding requested in this proposal would provide a $30,000 stipend/student/year plus an allowance of $10,500 per student/year for educational fees and costs for up to two years. Students will be guaranteed support to ?stay on the bridge? through to completion of the Ph.D.. This proposal has the enthusiastic support of all STEM departments and the Deans of the College of Letters and Science, the College of Engineering, and the Graduate Division. Our long term objective is to recruit and retain a diverse group of graduate students who are successful beyond the two-year funding period of the award by earning their doctorate degrees at UCSB, and becoming competitive candidates for postdoctoral positions in STEM disciplines. We will provide an extensive and comprehensive academic and professional preparation program that offers BD Scholars access to tools and a supportive academic network that will foster success in their graduate programs and subsequent postdoctoral careers. The BD program will include both formative and summative evaluation to assess its impact on the diversity of the population of graduate students and future faculty.
In conjunction with CA LSAMP leadership, the BD Scholars program of academic and professional development activities will be coordinated by the California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI), a research institute that pursues interdisciplinary research in nanoscience and engineering. CNSI hosts a portfolio of education programs aimed at broadening participation in STEM disciplines. In cooperation with others at UCSB, CNSI has been at the frontier of applied research on programs that bring underrepresented students from diverse backgrounds to the highest levels of achievement in STEM. The proposed BD program incorporates best practices and innovative ideas for recruitment and retention of graduate researchers and builds upon lessons learned from programs at other University of California campuses as well as sister LSAMPs. This proposal leverages the distinctive strengths of several graduate and undergraduate research programs at UCSB to prepare BD scholars to be successful scientists and role models who can diversify the faculty ranks in research institutions. Students will receive rigorous academic and research training experiences that support completion of the Ph.D. as well as future contributions to our nation's scientific and engineering expertise. The developmental workshops, conference participation, and exposure to STEM career fields will contribute to the professional and personal growth of minority graduate students and increase the efficacy of existing activities. The BD will create increased opportunity for talented students who want to make a difference, locally and globally, while increasing intellectual diversity. To date, UC-LSAMP has supported 46 URM students in BD activities. The potential is great: UC Systemwide granted 1,497 B.S. degrees to URM students in 2007-08. Our talent pool of LSAMP students is strong, and the demand to enter graduate school is significant.
This proposal will foster stronger partnerships within UCSB and between UC and specific non-Ph.D. granting institutions having large populations of minority students enrolled in STEM undergraduate majors, including collaboration with the California State University LSAMP (reference MOU between CSU and UC LSAMP and AGEP). UCSB faculty and graduate students will strengthen existing, and create new, research collaborations with institutions that host LSAMP programs. The program will create and support the community of students, faculty and staff who will engaged in a focused program of intensive mentoring, communication skills and professional development necessary to prepare BD fellows for the highly competitive doctoral environment and ultimately for academic positions. By increasing the success of underrepresented graduate students we will create a stronger campuswide research environment that welcomes diverse approaches to scientific discovery. UCSB will disseminate the results of this initiative within the University and through a diverse array of publications and presentations at national venues in order to advance the understanding of the necessary components to achieve success in STEM academic careers. The long-term impact of the BD activity will be on America?s STEM workforce, both in academia and in industry research and development. By nurturing the future professoriate as well as the scientific workforce, the value added will be seen in the visibility of minorities in science and engineering, increasing representation and providing role models and motivation for the next generation.
