LSAMP BD: CU Boulder CO-WY AMP

University Of Colorado At Boulder, Boulder CO

Investigators

Abstract

The Colorado-Wyoming Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP CO-WY AMP) Bridge to the Doctorate (BD) activity will offer 12 talented students from multiple LSAMP alliances the opportunity to pursue doctoral degrees in STEM fields at the University of Colorado Boulder. The four key goals of the CU Boulder BD project are to 1) Increase the number of certified LSAMP URM students successfully completing STEM doctoral programs; 2) Retain and graduate URM STEM PhD students at CU Boulder; 3) Provide targeted academic and research skill development opportunities, professional development activities, effective faculty-peer mentoring, and ongoing financial support; and 4) Institutionalize effective recruitment and retention strategies that successfully advance URM graduate students through a STEM PhD degree. Toward these goals, the program’s objectives are to: 1) Leverage BD funding to secure additional resources and opportunities for URM doctoral students by aligning BD efforts with other federally funded training grants; 2) Establish effective relationships with program administrators of LSAMP programs nationally; and 3) Actively engage faculty in the recruiting, retaining, mentoring, and preparing URM doctoral students for their careers. The project will implement a comprehensive program that includes rigorous academic preparation, research training experiences, and professional development activities for the BD Fellows. The project will contribute to advancing the NSF’s Mission “To promote the progress of science: “to advance the national health, prosperity and welfare, or to secure the national defense” and its 2018-2022 Strategic Plan to: “foster the growth of a more capable and diverse research workforce and advance the scientific and innovation skills of the nation.” This project will increase the number of Ph.D.-level scientists by having BD Fellows discover, and subsequently conduct, state-of-the art research. Fellows will work alongside esteemed STEM faculty in computer science, engineering, and physics, leading to a doctoral degree, and, ultimately, careers in research and teaching, thus contributing to our nation’s STEM enterprise. As the recruitment pool of LSAMP baccalaureate recipients includes a high proportion of individuals from underrepresented minority populations, the project anticipates that BD Fellows will be students from these groups. Therefore, the project will contribute significantly to broadening participation in academe and science research. Project success will aid in the recruitment and retention of future STEM scholars, long after the project has ended. 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.