The Bridge to the Doctorate (BD) Program at the University of Florida (UF) is funded primarily by the National Science Foundation through the Florida-Georgia Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (FG-LSAMP) with additional support from UF Office of Research. The UF Graduate School directs the program with the assistance of the four UF colleges with STEM disciplines: the Colleges of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Engineering, Agricultural and Life Sciences, and Medicine. The BD will integrate students into UF's research networks and education programs to ensure that they are properly trained, mentored and developed for research careers in the STEM fields. UF is strongly committed to increasing diversity at all levels, with a particular emphasis on enhancing diversity in PhD programs and expanding the PhD student population. The BD program at UF ensures Fellows at least five years of support. It provides a variety of professional development components, including regularly scheduled meetings with the UF BD cohort and the University of South Florida BD cohorts, to help retain the participants and facilitate the Fellows' transitions into the scientific workforce. BD Fellows at UF will benefit from the support of the campus community that is committed to providing them with the assistance they need to complete their PhDs and make the transition into professional careers in STEM fields. The expectation is that the UF BD will develop the Fellows as a well-bonded cohort that is able to move successfully from undergraduate to graduate programs, and then move into professional positions in the workforce upon completion of the PhD.
The broader impacts embedded in the overall design and structure of the UF BD Program fosters activities that benefit the fellows and the broader community. Through linkages with numerous K-12 classroom activities, the BD Program will encourage youth and incoming college students to consider STEM disciplines and careers. The BD at UF also will cultivate a climate that will allow a number of the Fellows to enter the professoriate and further diversify STEM departments in colleges and universities. Such individuals will become role models and mentors for the next generation of STEM students.
