Bridge to Doctorate: WAESO LSAMP, Self Efficacy and Academic Community for Underrepresented Minority Student Success

美国要想在经济上领导世界，就必须拥有一支强大而充满活力的科技队伍，他们能够在全球舞台上创造、创新和领导。西班牙裔/拉丁美洲人，黑人/非洲裔美国人和美洲原住民目前仍然获得科学，技术，工程和技术（STEM）博士学位的人数很少，与美国整体人口非常不成比例。然而，在过去的24年里，西部联盟扩大学生机会（WAESO）LSAMP联盟已经证明了无与伦比的成功招聘，保留，并从目前代表性不足的人口毕业学士学位水平的科学家和工程师。WAESO LSAMP联盟成员亚利桑那大学的博士学位（BTD）项目将进一步扩大学士学位之外的努力，以招募，录取，注册，毕业论文硕士学位，并为博士课程入学做好充分准备，12名代表性不足的少数民族STEM学生，他们以前曾从LSAMP参与院校毕业，获得STEM学士学位。这个新的12名学生将参与同伴指导，具有挑战性的研究和学术学习机会，活动，并得到他们的导师的大力支持。该项目的主要目标是招募和保留一个BTD队列的12个代表性不足的少数STEM科学硕士（MS）。 谁从LSAMP参与学院和大学毕业的学生，并准备这些12 STEM硕士。学生必须具有高度的竞争力，以进入并在高质量的STEM博士课程取得成功。长期目标是这个BTD队列中的12名STEM学生获得奖学金或研究助理，被录取，注册并成功毕业，获得博士学位，并进入STEM劳动力队伍。该项目的范围是通过在WAESO LSAMP的联盟成员亚利桑那大学校园的全日制研究生学习之前和期间的5项任务来实现这一总体目标：1）招募12名从LSAMP参与机构毕业的高质量代表性不足的少数民族STEM学生; 2）确保这些学生成功获得MS。学位论文; 3）提高每个学生的研究自我效能; 4）建立一个热情的学术社区;和5）提供奖学金，博士课程申请和手稿写作辅导。该项目将利用从研究文献中收集的证据得出的两个假设：1）代表性不足的少数民族学生的研究自我效能感的改善将增加学生在STEM领域攻读博士学位的可能性。学生的研究自我效能感将通过专业发展研讨会，研究经验和指导来提高，这些都提高了学生的自信心，并增强了学生作为科学家的身份。2)提供一个受欢迎的学术社区将通过抵消代表性不足的少数民族研究生的孤立来减少代表性不足的少数民族研究生的流失。一个紧密团结的社区的形成将围绕定期安排的专业发展研讨会和社区建设社会活动。主要方法是通过以下方式建立学生的自我效能感：1）加强他们的专业发展技能; 2）为他们提供利用其学科的研究工具和技能的经验; 3）让学生与导师和同龄人在学术激励社区中互动，促进科学沉浸;以及4）让学生接触到成功和鼓舞人心的少数民族专业人士，他们已经获得了博士学位。在两年的过程中，在与教师导师配对后，每个STEM学生将定期进行研究，类似于具有夏季支持的研究助理的同行，在硕士论文中撰写他们的研究成果，捍卫他们的研究成果，并准备将其作为科学同行评审论文发表。

For the U.S. to lead the world economically, we must have a strong and vibrant scientific and technological workforce who can create, innovate and lead on the global stage. Hispanic/Latino, Black/African American and Native Americans still currently obtain doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering, and technology (STEM) in low numbers that are very disproportionate to the overall U.S. population. However, over the past 24 years, the Western Alliance to Expand Student Opportunity (WAESO) LSAMP alliance has demonstrated unparalleled success in recruiting, retaining, and graduating Bachelor's degree level scientists and engineers from currently underrepresented populations. This Bridge to the Doctorate (BTD) project at WAESO LSAMP's alliance member University of Arizona will further expand efforts beyond the baccalaureate to recruit, admit, enroll, graduate with thesis masters degrees, and fully prepare for admission to doctoral programs, 12 underrepresented minority STEM students who have previously graduated with a Bachelor's degree in STEM from LSAMP participating colleges and universities. This new cohort of 12 students will engage in peer mentoring, challenging research and academic study opportunities, activities, and receive intensive support from their mentors. The primary goal of this project is to recruit and retain a BTD cohort of 12 underrepresented minority STEM Master of Science (M.S.) students who have graduated from LSAMP participating colleges and universities and prepare those 12 STEM M.S. students to be highly competitive in order to enter and succeed in high quality STEM PhD programs. The long-term goal is that the 12 STEM students in this BTD cohort obtain fellowships or research assistantships, be admitted, enroll, and succeed in graduating with a PhD degree and enter into the STEM workforce. The scope of this project is to achieve this overarching goal through 5 tasks before and during two years of full-time graduate study at WAESO LSAMP's alliance member University of Arizona campus: 1) recruit 12 high quality underrepresented minority STEM students who have graduated from LSAMP participating institutions; 2) ensure these students succeed in obtaining an M.S. degree with a thesis; 3) increase each student's research self-efficacy; 4) build a welcoming academic community; and 5) provide coaching for fellowships, PhD program applications, and manuscript writing. This project will utilize two hypotheses derived from the evidence gleaned from the research literature: 1) Improvements in a underrepresented minority student's research self-efficacy will increase the likelihood that a student will pursue a PhD in a STEM field. The student's research self-efficacy will be enhanced by professional development workshops, research experience, and mentoring, which collectively increase student self-confidence and bolster the student's identity as a scientist. 2) Providing a welcoming academic community will decrease the attrition of underrepresented minority graduate students by counteracting isolation of underrepresented minority graduate students. The formation of a tightly knit community will be centered around the regularly scheduled professional development workshops and community building social events. The main approach is to build the self-efficacy of the students by: 1) strengthening their professional development skills; 2) providing them with experience utilizing research tools and skills of their discipline; 3) having students engage with mentors and peers in an academically stimulating community promoting scientific immersion; and 4) exposing students to successful and inspirational underrepresented minority professionals that have already earned a PhD. During the course of two years, after being paired with a faculty mentor, each STEM student will perform research on a regular basis similar to peers with a research assistantship with summer support, write-up their research findings in a masters thesis, defend their research results, and prepare them for publication as a scientific peer-reviewed paper.