California LSAMP Bridge to the Doctorate (BD) Activity

University Of California-Irvine, Irvine CA

Investigators

Abstract

The Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program assists universities and colleges in diversifying the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) workforce through the development of highly competitive students from groups historically underrepresented in STEM disciplines: African-Americans, Alaska Natives, American Indians, Hispanic Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Native Pacific Islanders. The goal of the LSAMP Bridge to the Doctorate (BD) Activity is to increase the quantity and quality of STEM graduate students from underrepresented populations, with emphasis on Ph.D. matriculation and completion. BD programs implemented in the nation's institutions of higher education contribute to addressing one of the objectives in NSF's 2014-2018 Strategic Plan, namely to "integrate education and research to support development of a diverse STEM workforce with cutting-edge capabilities." The composition of the STEM workforce in the United States, particularly workers with advanced degrees, does not reflect the demographics of the general population. By 2020, more than half of the children under the age of 5 will be part of an underrepresented racial/ethnic group. The goal of the California LSAMP (CAMP) Bridge to the Doctorate (BD) activity at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) is to increase the quality and diversity of students successfully completing STEM doctoral degree programs and increase the diversity of graduates entering the STEM workforce with the highest level of education. UC Davis will host the 2016-2018 cohort of the CAMP BD, which will provide fellowship support to 12 underrepresented STEM Ph.D. students. The BD activity at UC Davis is developed based on evidence-based practices and builds on previous successes of other partner institutions in the CAMP alliance. BD Fellows will benefit from state-of-the-art research facilities and a connective network of their peers, post-docs, and faculty, who will be instrumental to their success along the degree pathway. UC Davis' BD will offer professional development and rigorous training in specific STEM disciplines through interactive training and activities that promote networking and leadership in the scientific and engineering communities. In addition, strong community-building activities and events that bring the family into the support network will be pursued. The findings, lessons learned, and impact of the UC Davis BD will be disseminated through social networks, publications, presentations at national meetings, and data sharing processes with NSF-affiliated initiatives and diversity consortiums. UC Davis will implement a rigorous evaluation and longitudinal study of CAMP BD programs, which would result in improved understanding about the effectiveness of programs that seek to increase the diversity and inclusiveness of doctoral-level training in the STEM fields.