The Alabama Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (ALSAMP) will sponsor a Bridge to the Doctorate Program (BD) at the University of Alabama-Tuscaloosa during the 2010-2012 academic years. This cohort of 15 students will join 69 other students from underrepresented minority populations in science, technology, engineering and technology (STEM) graduate studies and increases the number of talented students who will obtain doctoral degrees in the STEM disciplines. Upon completion, these Ph.D. graduates will either enter the technical workforce or choose a career in academia becoming role models for other URM students in the future. Institutional funds will support 3 of students from this cohort.
The recruitment efforts will be led by the Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences and Dean of the School of Engineering, and will involve recruitment strategies that began in August 2009. The University of Alabama (UA) has a proven record of retaining, graduating and placing LSAMP STEM students in doctoral degree programs. Selected BD participants will receive an assigned faculty mentor and the opportunity to attend and participate in at least one professional scientific meeting each year. In addition, BD participants will be required to attend special topic seminars concerning graduate school matriculation designed specifically for the program and to apply for NSF and other fellowships. Linkages will be established with the NSF AGEP, IGERT and other programs. At the end of the two year award period, BD students remaining in UA doctoral programs will be guaranteed a continuation of the same level of financial support through a combination of departmental fellowships and additional financial support from the Graduate School. BD students not remaining at UA will be connected to doctoral programs at other institutions and will be assisted in securing fellowship and other support at the selected institution.
All BD students will be tracked into doctoral degree programs and the workforce, including the professoriate. Students in previous BD programs have been successfully tracked and contact is maintained continuously. The program will be evaluated. Assessment data will be collected and evaluated at intervals during the two year period of the grant and beyond. In collaboration with the other BD site coordinators and national LSAMP PIs, Alabama LSAMP will publish the annual National LSAMP BD Magazine with leveraged funds from its regular LSAMP award. The magazine is an excellent source of publicity for the BD program as well as an important networking tool for BD students.
The project is an important step in advancing the knowledge of underrepresented minority students in STEM. The experiences gained by these students working with science and education faculty will position them for excellent career advancement.
The project broadens participation of underrepresented groups in graduate education with the real prospect of increasing the number of such groups attaining doctoral degrees in STEM and entering the professoriate. Discovery and understanding resulting from this project will be disseminated via a national BD publication to other institutions and programs focusing on graduate education.
The University of Alabama selected sixteen STEM students for the Bridge to the Doctorate program with support from NSF and the university. Of the sixteen, seven have bee admitted to Ph.D.degree programs, three completed masters degree programs and entered the workforce and six are curently enrolled pursuing admission to a Ph.D. degree program. Students were dictributed in STEM fields as follows: Engineering - 6; biology - 5; chemistry - 2 and mathematics - 3. BD students applied for NSF Research Fellowships (two were successful), presented research to professional conferences and worked with a research mentor. At the end of the two year award period, all remaining BD students are continuing at the same level of financial support through a combination of departmental fellowships and additional financial support from the Graduate School at UA. The project was an important step in advancing the knowledge of underrepresented minority students in STEM. The experiences gained by these students working with science and education faculty will position them for excellent career advancement. The project broadens participation of underrepresented groups in graduate education with the real prospect of increasing the number of such groups attaining doctoral degrees in STEM and entering the professoriate. Discovery and understanding resulting from this project has been disseminated via a national BD publication to other institutions and programs focusing on graduate education.
