A Bridge to the Future

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Students who enter college interested in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines persist, excel, and advance by being exposed to a combination of intellectually challenging classes, rewarding research opportunities, and meaningful mentoring relationships. Unfortunately, many students, and particularly those from groups historically underrepresented in STEM disciplines, do not experience this combination, and are lost from the pool of prospective scientists, with serious consequences for the scientific workforce in the U.S. The Columbia University Bridge Program is designed to give underrepresented post-baccalaureates who may have missed on one or all of these elements the opportunity to make themselves more competitive Ph.D.-program applicants. The Program's emphasis on research experience advances scientific discovery; its flexible coursework, professional development, and mentoring enhance participants' skills while creating a structured, rigorous, and supportive environment in which they can prepare themselves for a successful transition into a graduate program.This program will fund participants in the Bridge Program, thereby contributing directly to a wide range of research projects across the physical sciences and increasing the participation of underrepresented groups in STEM. Bridge participants are hired as full-time research assistants for up to two years. They conduct research under the mentorship of faculty members, post-doctoral researchers, and graduate students, are provided with funds to support professional expenses, and are eligible for university benefits. The participants enroll in at least one course per semester, and attend monthly one-on-one progress meetings with the Program's Assistant Director. The Program also organizes a number of professional development workshops, provides access to GRE test preparation, and partners with Columbia's School of Continuing Education to ensure success while at Columbia and to facilitate application to Ph.D. programs. In the next few years, a dozen Bridge alumni will earn their Ph.D.s, enabling a start-to-finish evaluation of the impact that the Program has had on its participants' trajectories. The Program's evaluation team will conduct assessments of programmatic elements and develop a data-driven model of best practices that can be shared with the STEM community.