California LSAMP Bridge to the Doctorate (BD) Activity

University Of California-Irvine, Irvine CA

Investigators

Abstract

The University of California (UC) Berkeley proposes to host Cohort VIII of the California LSAMP Bridge to the Doctorate (BD) that will fund 12 underrepresented minority STEM PhD students. The BD will enhance the diversity of STEM graduate education on the Berkeley campus by robustly recruiting, enrolling, training, and graduating a cohort of 12 talented doctoral students. This activity will support LSAMP students exclusively and offer an opportunity to enroll in graduate education without the financial burden of loans, providing stipends for the first two years and cost-of-education funds and support from the academic departments and/or external fellowship funding for the duration of the doctoral program. UC Berkeley has embarked on a multi-faceted technology-rich campaign to recruit highly motivated LSAMP students through a variety of methods (national e-mail listserve, electronic flyers, website development, QR code creation, Facebook, UC Berkeley graduate school phone hotline and YouTube videos). Berkeley will build on academic department and faculty relationships as well as collaboration with the Graduate Division. Intellectual Merit: The proposed Bridge to the Doctorate activity will provide a rich set of graduate student development opportunities, which in addition to rigorous training in specific STEM disciplines will also include on-going faculty mentoring, professional development, and activities that promote networking and leadership in the scientific and engineering communities. The nurturing and supportive environment will ensure successful completion of the Ph.D. and transition to competitive careers in academia and industry regionally, nationally, and globally. This proposal highlights creative diversity strategies and incorporates best practices for recruitment and retention of graduate student researchers and builds upon lessons learned from other LSAMP BD host sites. Berkeley ranks as one of the world's leading intellectual centers, renowned for the size and quality of its libraries and laboratories, the scope of its research and publications, and the distinction of its faculty and students. Not only does Berkeley award more doctoral degrees each year than any other university in the country, over the past 10 years Berkeley has awarded the highest number of Ph.D.s (in non-education fields) in the nation to students who are historically underrepresented in graduate education. UC Berkeley's commitment to diversity encompasses admitting and educating a diverse undergraduate and graduate student body and creating a nurturing climate of inclusion, colleagiality, and excellence. Broader Impacts: This project seeks to strengthen the linkages between existing LSAMP undergraduate programs and UC Berkeley's STEM graduate programs with the goal of creating a permanent shift in the pipeline leading to graduate school at UC Berkeley. The BD students will be engaged in mentoring STEM undergraduates and pre-college students to bolster excitement for STEM majors and exert their influence to encourage youth toward STEM majors. The BD cohort is anticipated to affect not only the perceptions of the next generation of underrepresented minority STEM students, for whom they will serve as role models, but also exceed the expectations of STEM faculty at institutions in the state and across the nation. The findings, lessons learned, and impact of the activities will be disseminated through social networks, webinars, publications, presentations at national meetings, and data sharing processes with NSF-affiliated initiatives and diversity consortiums. BD students will be expected to connect with the Bay Area's rich science and technology network. They are expected to have a vital and transformative impact far beyond minority education, STEM disciplines, and the host campus. In addition, the on-line community, Google's gchats, and webinars will connect BD students from the proposed cohort to those across the nation, engendering a wide net of connectivity that broadens career opportunities.