Bridge to the Doctoral Degress: University of Puerto Ri*

描述（由申请人提供）：该提案旨在更新“博士学位之桥：UPR到UMDNJ”，该提案一直在帮助未被充分代表的少数民族（URM）研究生从波多黎各大学马亚圭斯校区的生物学硕士课程过渡到皮斯卡塔韦校区UMDNJ生物医学科学研究生院（GSBS）的分子生物科学博士课程。这些博士项目代表了UMDNJ-GSBS和邻近的罗格斯大学、新泽西州立大学（RU）之间的合作努力。UPR-Mayaguez的生物学硕士课程的学生主要是波多黎各人，但该课程不扩展到博士课程，为学生在生物医学科学领域的高级研究人员做好准备。然而，UPR-Mayaguez在其他机构（包括UMDNJ-GSBS， Piscataway和RU）培养了优秀的博士候选人，这是长期以来的记录。为了促进硕士候选人在UPR-Mayaguez的过渡，这个为期三年的计划被建立，包括在UPR-Mayaguez的一年课程学习，然后在UMDNJ的课程学习和研究。完成该桥梁课程的学生将获得UPR的硕士学位，并以先进的成绩进入UMDNJ-GSBS的博士课程，与现有的umdnj -罗格斯大学管道项目对接，该项目支持URM候选人在最初几年的学习中获得博士学位。现在是第六年，我们已经招收了11名学生参加这个项目。其中8人正在攻读硕士或博士学位。三名学生已成功进入博士阶段，其中两名学生的论文工作已达到高级水平。另外四人正处于大师赛阶段。在项目的5年中，有4名学生在第一年或第二年开始时离开了项目；其中一人在其他地方攻读博士学位，一人进入了波多黎各的医学院。我们将继续修改项目，以处理招聘和选择合适学生的问题，在马亚圭斯的准备工作，从马亚圭斯转移到皮斯卡塔韦期间的适应情况，以及在皮斯卡塔韦的项目灵活性。该项目继续为有才华的波多黎各学生增加在马亚圭斯的机会，并增加URM学生在UMDNJ和罗格斯大学博士项目中的人数，从而扩大学生进入博士级别生物医学研究职业的范围。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This proposal seeks to renew the "Bridge to the Doctoral Degree: UPR to UMDNJ", which has been assisting underrepresented minority (URM) graduate students in making the transition from the M.S. Program in Biology at the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez Campus into the Ph.D. Programs in the Molecular Biosciences at UMDNJ Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS),Piscataway Campus. These Ph.D. programs represent a collaborative effort between UMDNJ-GSBS and the contiguous Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (RU). The M.S. in Biology Program at UPR-Mayaguez has a student population that is predominantly Puerto Rican, but the Program does not extend to a Ph.D. program to prepare students for careers as senior investigators in the biomedical sciences. However, UPR-Mayaguez has a long record of producing excellent candidates for the Ph.D. at other institutions, including at UMDNJ-GSBS, Piscataway and RU. To facilitate the transition of M.S. candidates at UPR-Mayaguez, this three-year Program was established, consisting of one year of course work at UPR-Mayaguez, followed by course work and research at UMDNJ. Students completing this Bridge program receive the M.S. degree from UPR and are admitted with advanced standing into the Ph.D. programs at UMDNJ-GSBS, interfacing with the existing UMDNJ-Rutgers University Pipeline Program, which supports URM candidates for the Ph.D. in their initial years of study. Now in the 6th year, we have enrolled eleven students in the program. Of these, 8 are progressing toward the M.S. or Ph.D. degrees. Three students have successfully bridged into the Ph.D. phase, with 2 of these now at an advanced level of their thesis work. Four others are in the Masters' phase. During the 5 years of the program, 4 students left the program in their first year or the beginning of their second year; 1 of these is in a Ph.D. program elsewhere, and one entered medical school in Puerto Rico. We continue to modify the program to deal with issues of recruitment and selection of appropriate students, preparation in Mayaguez, acclimatization during the transfer from Mayaguez to Piscataway, and program flexibility in Piscataway. This program continues to increase opportunities for talented Puerto Rican students at Mayaguez, and to increase the number of URM students in the Ph.D. program of UMDNJ and Rutgers, thereby expanding the range of students entering biomedical research careers at the Ph.D. level.