Alcorn State University: Penn State University Bridges to the Doctorate Program

描述（由申请人提供）：美国的持续经济增长将严重依赖于一批受过科学训练的工人。目前的预测表明，学生对科学和工程的参与正在减少。然而，有一批学生在这些领域传统上代表性不足，即少数民族学生。招募和培训这些学生的重大努力可能会导致这些群体在科学和工程中的代表性增加，也将增加美国科学培训工作者的数量和储备。然而，在留住这类学生方面几乎没有作出努力。本提案的目标是在宾夕法尼亚州立大学和奥尔康州立大学之间实施一项计划，以准备，更重要的是，留住美国生物医学科学传统上代表性不足的学生。为了实现这一目标，本申请的目标是制定一项全面的计划，有效地增加选择奥尔康州立大学学生的培训机会和技能，增加他们对研究生院的严格准备，提高在奥尔康州立大学选择教师的研究机会。我们的理由是，更有效的准备和保留策略将导致增加少数民族学生谁是传统上在生物医学科学代表性不足。我们有两个具体的目标：1）选择生物科学硕士学位课程的学生在奥尔康州立大学的招聘参加在奥尔康州立大学和宾夕法尼亚州立大学的桥梁计划，和2）促进奥尔康州立大学和宾夕法尼亚州立大学之间的教师交流，以更新研究技能，提高教师在奥尔康州立大学的研究广度。使用旨在提高少数民族学生在研究生院的保留策略的组合，我们预计，以实现从奥尔康州立大学硕士课程过渡到博士课程，特别是在宾夕法尼亚州立大学的学生人数增加。更重要的是，我们预计这些努力将导致更多的保留和接收博士生传统上在生物医学科学代表性不足。这将对增加美国受过科学训练的工作人员产生重大影响，他们可以为持续的研究和开发做出贡献。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Continued economic growth in the U.S. will be critically dependent on a pool of scientifically trained workers. Current predictions suggest that student participation in science and engineering is decreasing. However, there exist of pool of students that have traditionally been underrepresented in these fields, minority students. Significant efforts to recruit and train such students could lead to increased representation of these groups in science and engineering, and will also increase the number and pool of scientifically trained workers in the U.S. Current efforts to increased participation of groups traditionally not represented in science include activities that aim at increasing recruitment and preparation of such students for graduate school entrance. However, little effort has been made in retention of such students. The goal of this proposal is to implement a program between The Pennsylvania State University and Alcorn State University, to prepare and more importantly, retain students traditionally underrepresented in biomedical sciences in the U.S. In pursuit of that goal, the objective of this application is to develop a comprehensive program that effectively increases the training opportunities and skill set of select Alcorn State University students, increasing their preparation for the rigors of graduate school, enhancing the research opportunities of select faculty at Alcorn State. Our rationale is that more effective preparation and retention strategies will lead to increased numbers of minority students who are traditionally underrepresented in the biomedical sciences. We have two specific objectives: 1) Recruitment of select Biological Sciences Masters degree program students at Alcorn State University to participate in the Bridges program at Alcorn State and Penn State, and 2) facilitate faculty exchanges between Alcorn State and Penn State in order to update research skills and enhance research breadth of faculty at Alcorn State. Using a combination of strategies designed to enhance retention of minority students in graduate school, we expect that to attain increased numbers of students transitioning from the Masters program at Alcorn State into PhD programs, particularly at Penn State. More importantly, we expect that these efforts will result in increased retention and receipt of PhD by students traditionally underrepresented in biomedical sciences. This will have a significant impact on the increase in the pool of scientifically trained workers in the U.S. who can contribute to continued research and development.