UCSD Minority Access to Math Engineering and Science

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The University of California, San Diego (UCSD) proposes to address the underrepresentation of minorities among science, engineering and mathematics doctorates through its Minority Access to Science, Engineering and Math (MASEM) program. By partnering with six Southern California institutions that have significant enrollments of minority students, UCSD plans to create a pipeline of minority students from the undergraduate level through graduate programs at UCSD to placement in academic positions at the postdoctoral level. This program will provide services for students at the undergraduate level, the graduate level and beyond.The partner institutions are members of the California State University system, including Dominguez Hills (Los Angeles), Fullerton, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Northridge and San Diego. Five of these schools are members of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU). With strong enrollments of Hispanic and African American students, these institutions will collaborate with UCSD to provide their undergraduates with opportunities for graduate school exploration and preparation.'Me UCSD MASEM program will have one major goal: to increase the number of underrepresented students who complete doctoral degrees at UCSD in science, engineering and disciplines and enter the professoriate in these fields.To achieve this goal, the program has established five major objectives:1 ) To develop and implement successful outreach and recruitment activities to increase applications fromunderrepresented students to UCSD doctoral programs in the SEM disciplines by 10% each year and enrollment of new students by 15% each year; a) Baseline underrepresented minority SEM applications for Fall 1998: 118 b) Baseline new underrepresented minority SEM students for Fall 1998: 122) To provide graduate preparation opportunities for undergraduates at partner institutions;3) To create supportive environments for UCSD underrepresented graduate students in SEM fields at both the institutional and departmental levels to maintain current degree completion rate of 78% and to enhance students' satisfaction with their graduate experience;4) To develop student interest in, and successful preparation for, academic careers;5) To facilitate the development of cross-institutional faculty connections between UCSD and CSU partner campuses.An advisory board of graduate students and faculty will guide and evaluate the program. This board will meet biannually to monitor the progress of the program and to make recommendations for adjustments as needed.At the undergraduate level students will obtain information and training in research skills, written and oral communication, PhD career opportunities, and applying to and choosing a graduate program. In addition, students will benefit from faculty mentoring at partner institutions and UCSD, and will participate in a summer research internship.Graduate students in the program will enjoy peer and faculty mentoring, a complete financial support package, preferred housing, and networking opportunities. A summer transition program including laboratory rotations and community building events will assist the students with integration into the San Diego and campus communities. On-going professional workshops and seminars offered by a number of campus service offices will be available specifically for graduate students in the MASEM program.Faculty involved with the program will have an opportunity to interact with colleagues and students at the participating institutions in a number of ways. Faculty at CSU and UCSD will co-mentor undergraduate students who conduct research in the summer research internship program. They will collaboratively teach an introduction to research course; and they will participate in faculty exchanges at both UCSD and the CSU partner campuses. These interactions will strengthen cross-institutional relationships to create and sustain a fruitful pipeline of students.All levels of service will be supported by electronic means. Workshop and seminar materials will be available online for students. Discussion groups and individual research web pages will be encouraged and supported technically. These electronic resources will provide easy access to important information from remote locations.