Chicago State-Northwestern MS-PhD Bridge to the Future

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DESCRIPTION (provided by the applicant): Northwestern University (NU) and Chicago State University propose to develop a Master's degree bridge program (BP) at Chicago State University (CSU) in the life sciences that will identify and admit highly able under-represented minority students from the Chicago area who have the ability, aspiration and industry for the doctoral degree but whose prior academic qualifications would not otherwise make them competitive for quality PhD programs. The program is designed to provide the academic skills, laboratory training, and familiarity with the PhD program environment that will allow the students to complete, with distinction, doctoral programs at Northwestern University (NU) or similar institutions. The proposed program would substantially expand the existing MS program in biology at CSU with new features: additional requirements in biochemistry and molecular biology, special courses at CSU taught by NU faculty that will focus on quantitative biology and on the skills and academic background needed for success in the doctoral programs at NU, enrollment in PhD program core courses and participation in laboratory rotations during a quarter in residence at NU, preparation of a research thesis for publication and presentation at a national meeting, careful mentoring of students and monitoring of their progress, GRE preparation, and sharing of several components of existing minority programs at CSU. Prognosis for success is deemed excellent because of the large number of highly talented under-represented minority students in the Chicago metropolitan area whose aspirations for higher education are frustrated by financial constraints and because the proposed program is the culmination of several years of interactions between faculty members of the the two universities during which they have analyzed the progress and needs of current minority graduate students who have gone on to NU doctoral programs from CSU. In addition, the program will benefit from periodic scrutiny by external advisors and evaluators.