LSAMP BD: LSU BD 9 2022 Cohort, LA-BRIDGE: Louisiana Broadening Resources for Increasing Diversity in Graduate Education

Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge LA

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 populations underrepresented in STEM disciplines: African Americans, Hispanic Americans, American Indians, Alaska Natives, 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 Louisiana State University (LSU), one of the 14 universities and colleges included in the Louis Stokes Louisiana Alliance for Minority Participation (LS-LAMP) program. This project is designed to attract, retain, and graduate a cohort of underrepresented PhD students in STEM disciplines equipped with career readiness skills and self-efficacy to enter the STEM workforce. The program components integrate mentoring and research into recruitment and retention strategies alongside targeted activities such as retreats, workshops, monthly meetings, individual development plans, cultural events, summer writing experiences and community outreach. In addition, the project is guided by research questions that are designed to ignite best practices and generate new knowledge about the experiences of a critical graduate student populace. This LS-LAMP BD activity at LSU will positively impact the retention and graduation rates of STEM graduate students from underrepresented populations in doctoral programs, thus producing a diverse workforce of STEM professionals. 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.