Chicago State-Northwestern MS-PhD Bridge to the Future

描述（申请人提供）：西北大学（NU）和芝加哥州立大学提议在芝加哥州立大学（CSU）开设一个生命科学硕士学位桥梁课程（BP），该课程将识别并录取来自芝加哥地区的能力很强、代表性不足的少数民族学生，他们的愿望和行业的博士学位，但其先前的学术资格，否则不会使他们有竞争力的质量博士课程。该计划旨在提供学术技能，实验室培训和熟悉博士课程环境，使学生能够在西北大学（NU）或类似机构完成博士课程。拟议的计划将大大扩大现有的MS程序在生物学CSU与新功能：生物化学和分子生物学的额外要求，由NU教师教授的CSU特殊课程，将侧重于定量生物学以及在NU博士课程中取得成功所需的技能和学术背景，注册博士课程核心课程，并在NU居住的一个季度期间参与实验室轮换，准备在全国会议上发表和介绍的研究论文，认真指导学生和监测他们的进步，GRE准备，并在CSU现有的少数民族计划的几个组成部分的共享。成功的预测被认为是优秀的，因为大量的高人才不足-代表少数民族学生在芝加哥大都市区的愿望，高等教育是挫折的财政限制，因为拟议的计划是几年的互动之间的两所大学的教师，在此期间，他们分析了目前的少数民族研究生的进展和需求，谁拥有从加州州立大学继续攻读NU博士学位此外，该计划将受益于外部顾问和评估人员的定期审查。

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.