UT System Alliance: Bridge to the Doctorate Cohort VIII BD Site: University of Texas-Arlington

University Of Texas At El Paso, El Paso TX

Investigators

Abstract

The University of Texas System Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) will sponsor a Bridge to the Doctorate Program (BD) at the University of Texas at Arlington (UT Arlington). This cohort of 12 students from underrepresented minority populations in science, technology, engineering and technology (STEM) will increase 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 and female students in the future. The program will build on the experiences gathered from previous BD cohorts at the University of Texas System campuses. Critical components of the program include the following: ? The program will target primarily students with prior undergraduate research experience who wish to pursue Ph.D. degrees in STEM disciplines at UT Arlington. ? All BD fellows will receive quality advising and mentoring to help them achieve their academic goals, to give them support in overcoming obstacles to the doctorate, and to prepare them to be knowledgeable and competent professionals. ? All BD fellows will apply for continuing support to the NSF Graduate Fellowship Program. ? Financial and academic support to the BD fellows will continue beyond the expiration of the two-year BD grant to ensure retention and graduation. The project will contribute to the knowledge base concerning the effectiveness of interventions needed to lead qualified students from URM groups with undergraduate degrees in STEM disciplines to successful completion of a doctoral program in their field of study. In addition, the program will lead to the enhancement of successful strategies for URM graduate student success that are applicable to other institutions of higher learning with characteristics similar to those of UTA (urban research university, significant proportion of URM enrollment). Finally, the program will contribute to the national goal of increasing the number of URM students in STEM disciplines with Ph.D. degrees in their area of expertise