Physics Bridge Program

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Physics ranks at the bottom of science disciplines in educating the growing US population of African-, Hispanic-, and Native-Americans. The situation is not improving, as the fraction of PhDs in physics awarded to underrepresented minorities (URM) among US citizens, about 5-6%, has not increased over the past decade. We propose to increase, within the next decade, the fraction of physics PhDs awarded to URM students toward levels more representative of the fraction of URMs that currently receive physics Bachelor?s degrees. We will do this by creating a national network of sustainable research-focused programs that bridge the transition from institutions where URM students receive their undergraduate education to top research universities. The American Physical Society (APS) occupies a unique position in the community to catalyze action and leverage resources to succeed in these goals and to bring about sustainable change in physics graduate education. This project will establish "Bridge Experiences" that will help diverse students prepare for and make the transition to doctoral studies in physics. These Bridge Experiences will adopt best practices from existing programs, and follow either a Master?s degree or a post-Baccalaureate example. We have brought together Doctoral Granting Institutions (DGIs), Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), and concerned organizations to inform and help build a national effort that will offer sustainable solutions to improved support, mentoring, and progress monitoring to ensure that students make the transition smoothly and complete their studies. Physics offers an ideal test-bed for Bridge Experiences, as only modest numbers of students are required to demonstrate success in mitigating the losses that currently occur in the transition to doctoral studies. We choose to focus on doctoral students because these students will become a cadre of future leaders who can catalyze national change in science education. In addition, the research and assessment components of this project will identify, document, and disseminate best practices that can serve as a model for other disciplines to encourage more of the nation?s capable underrepresented minorities (URM) undergraduates to pursue doctoral degrees. Intellectual Merit This program will use existing knowledge of Bridge Experiences that have demonstrated effectiveness in increasing minority participation at the doctoral level. Our project incorporates strong evidence about support structures that predict academic success of URM students, and establishes links between MSIs and DGIs through research activities, collaboration, and visits. We will conduct research on admissions and retention in physics doctoral programs, and the correlation of GRE scores with successful completion of a PhD. The program will utilize our 30+ year experience in supporting minorities through our Minority Scholarship Program and its associated mentoring efforts, our long-standing connections with the physics research community, and our decade-long efforts in working with individuals and universities to promote teacher education through the Physics Teacher Education Coalition (PhysTEC) project. Broader Impacts This project will provide a model of graduate education for URM students that can be applied to other Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields as well as improved links between MSIs and DGIs. In addition, physics is taken by nearly every STEM student, and significantly increasing the number of minority PhDs in physics will enhance the diversity of the physics academy and professional workforce. This project is intended to meet the challenges posed by the National Academy?s report Rising Above the Gathering Storm, including ensuring that the workforce brings a diverse perspective to scientific and technological challenges. Since many doctoral students we prepare will become tomorrow?s academic, industrial and government leaders, educating more minority PhDs will have a multiplicative effect in educating and inspiring students at all stages in the system, and will help address disparities that persist today.