LSAMP BD: University of Virginia, Virginia ? North Carolina Alliance (2018-2020)

University Of Virginia Main Campus, Charlottesville VA

Investigators

Abstract

The Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program assists universities and colleges in diversifying the 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 PhD matriculation and completion. BD programs implemented in the nation's institutions of higher education contribute to addressing one of the objectives in NSF's 2018-2022 Strategic Plan, namely to "foster the growth of a more capable and diverse research workforce and advance the scientific and innovation skills of the Nation." The vision of this grant is to provide a national model to produce underrepresented scientists and engineers with doctoral degrees in STEM. The performance site for this LSAMP BD activity is the University of Virginia (UVA), one of the 12 partners included in the Virginia-North Carolina Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (VA-NC LSAMP). UVA, the lead institution for the alliance, will host the first BD program for VA-NC LSAMP; providing doctoral-level study for a cohort of 12 graduates from LSAMP undergraduate programs. In addition to affording substantial financial support to enable students to focus full time on doctoral course work and research, the project provides an integrated set of activities designed to advance BD students toward completion of doctoral level studies. Activities include: 1) a 3-week summer bridge enrichment program; 2) professional development opportunities; 3) training and preparation of applications for competitive graduate fellowships; and 4) extracurricular mentoring support that prepares the students to become STEM professionals. These activities address barriers that limit the increase of students from groups historically underrepresented in STEM fields, particularly at the doctoral level. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.