BRIDGE to the Baccalaureate Program at Morgan State University

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SPECIFIC AIMS The BRIDGE to the BS Program at Morgan State University (MSU) is a collaboration between Morgan State University and Prince Georges Community College (PGCC). The long-term goal of this program is to increase the numbers of underrepresented minorities who successfully complete the transition from PGCC to completion of the Baccalaureate degree in psychology and STEM majors at MSU and who are then able to successfully compete for positions in graduate or professional programs or gain entry in the workforce in areas related to biomedical or behavioral sciences. The program, which will engage students from the start of their first year in community college, utilizes a “wrap around” approach that offers continuous intensive, individualized support and attention through the senior year at MSU. The goals center around three major strategies: 1) pre-program initiatives to nurture a culture of research at PGCC and increase awareness of undergraduate research and academic opportunities at MSU; 2) academic support that will foster successful transition to MSU and persistence to completion of the baccalaureate degree; and 3) mentoring initiatives (personal and professional) that continue throughout the academic career. Thus the “wrap around” approach encompasses activities before, during, and after completion of the program. At the end of the funding period, we will have trained and graduated 30 MSU BRIDGE scholars. We anticipate a much broader impact beyond just the BRIDGE scholars that transfer to MSU given that some of the program activities at each institution are open to all students. All students at PGCC within relevant majors will be encourages to participate in Pre- BRIDGE activities. All transfer students at MSU within the psychology and STEM majors will be strongly encouraged to participate in the MSU BRIDGE activities so that they will also persist towards completion of their degree. To this end, we propose the following Goals and Objectives: GOAL 1. To strengthen the transfer student pipeline between PGCC and MSU for students who are interested in completing a baccalaureate degree in the STEM or psychology disciplines, with particular focus on career goals in biomedical or behavioral sciences. GOAL 2. Create and facilitate transfer student academic success and persistence to completion of the baccalaureate degree in STEM at MSU. GOAL 3. Nurture a culture of research and academic achievement that will facilitate completion of the baccalaureate degree and subsequent careers in the biomedical or behavioral sciences.