The Fisk-Vanderbilt Masters-to-Ph.D. Bridge Program is a model for substantially increasing the number of underrepresented minority students earning doctoral degrees in the physical sciences. The program presently leads the nation in master’s degrees in physics for African-Americans, and is one of the top ten producers of physics master’s degrees among all U.S. citizens. The program is on pace to become the nation’s top producer of underrepresented minority Ph.Ds. in physics, astronomy, and materials science. We summarize the main features of the program, including two of its core strategies: Partnering a minority-serving institution and a major research university through collaborative research, and using the master’s degree as a pathway to the Ph.D. We discuss our methods for recognizing and selecting for unrealized potential in students during the admissions process, and for cultivating this potential to develop successful scientists and leaders.
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As defined by the National Science Foundation, underrepresented minorities are U.S. citizens and permanent residents who identify as African American, Hispanic/Latino, and/or Native American.
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Each 90-minute seminar is divided into a formal presentation by a faculty leader followed by a social time for fellowship and informal mentoring. Topics covered in the formal presentations include time management, organization, and prioritization; setting and meeting goals; developing a network of mentors; milestones on the road to the Ph.D.; as well as other topics led by occasional guest speakers who are prominent scholars of color. In addition, postdoctoral researchers associated with the Bridge Program lead a reading group based on the book The Art of Being a Scientist (see Ref. 19).
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Available at ⟨ceee.rice.edu/meetings/LEADCON/⟩.
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See supplementary material EPAPS Document No. E-AJPIAS-79-004103 for Appendices A and B. This document can be reached via a direct link in the online article’s HTML reference section or via the EPAPS homepage (http://www.aip.org/pubservs/epaps.html).
© 2011 American Association of Physics Teachers.
2011
American Association of Physics Teachers
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