Physics Bridge Program

在教育美国不断增长的非裔、西班牙裔和原住民人口方面，物理学在科学学科中排名垫底。这种情况并没有改善，因为美国公民中被授予代表性不足的少数民族（URM）的物理学博士比例约为5- 6%，在过去十年中没有增加。我们建议增加，在未来十年内，物理博士学位授予URM学生的比例对水平更代表URM的比例，目前获得物理学士学位？s度。我们将通过创建一个以可持续研究为重点的项目的国家网络来实现这一目标，这些项目将URM学生接受本科教育的机构过渡到顶级研究型大学。美国物理学会（APS）在社区中占据着独特的地位，以催化行动和利用资源来实现这些目标，并实现物理研究生教育的可持续变革。该项目将建立“桥梁经验”，这将有助于不同的学生准备和过渡到物理学博士研究。这些桥梁经验将采用现有计划的最佳实践，并遵循大师？的学位或学士学位后的例子。我们汇集了博士学位授予机构（DGIs），少数民族服务机构（MSIs）和有关组织，以告知和帮助建立一个国家的努力，这将提供可持续的解决方案，以改善支持，指导和进度监测，以确保学生顺利过渡并完成学业。物理学为桥梁体验提供了一个理想的测试平台，因为只需要少量的学生就可以成功地减轻目前在向博士研究过渡时发生的损失。我们选择专注于博士生，因为这些学生将成为未来的领导干部谁可以催化国家科学教育的变化。此外，该项目的研究和评估部分将确定，记录和传播最佳做法，可以作为其他学科的模式，以鼓励更多的国家？有能力的少数民族（URM）本科生攻读博士学位。智力优势该计划将使用桥梁经验的现有知识，这些经验已证明在博士水平上提高少数民族参与的有效性。我们的项目结合了有关支持结构的有力证据，预测URM学生的学术成功，并通过研究活动，合作和访问建立MSIs和DGI之间的联系。我们将对物理博士课程的录取和保留进行研究，以及GRE成绩与成功完成博士学位的相关性。该计划将利用我们30多年的经验，通过我们的少数民族奖学金计划及其相关的指导工作，我们与物理研究界的长期联系，以及我们与个人和大学合作的长达十年的努力，通过物理教师教育联盟（PhysTEC）项目促进教师教育。该项目将为URM学生提供一个研究生教育模式，可应用于其他科学，技术，工程和数学（STEM）领域，并改善MSI和DGI之间的联系。此外，几乎每个STEM学生都会选择物理学，显著增加少数民族物理学博士的数量将增强物理学院和专业劳动力的多样性。该项目旨在应对国家科学院提出的挑战。的报告《战胜风暴》，包括确保劳动力为科学和技术挑战带来多样化的视角。既然我们准备的博士生很多会成为明天的吗？作为学术界、工业界和政府的领导者，教育更多的少数民族博士将对教育和激励系统中各个阶段的学生产生倍增效应，并将有助于解决今天持续存在的差距。

Physics ranks at the bottom of science disciplines in educating the growing US population of African-, Hispanic-, and Native-Americans. The situation is not improving, as the fraction of PhDs in physics awarded to underrepresented minorities (URM) among US citizens, about 5-6%, has not increased over the past decade. We propose to increase, within the next decade, the fraction of physics PhDs awarded to URM students toward levels more representative of the fraction of URMs that currently receive physics Bachelor?s degrees. We will do this by creating a national network of sustainable research-focused programs that bridge the transition from institutions where URM students receive their undergraduate education to top research universities. The American Physical Society (APS) occupies a unique position in the community to catalyze action and leverage resources to succeed in these goals and to bring about sustainable change in physics graduate education. This project will establish "Bridge Experiences" that will help diverse students prepare for and make the transition to doctoral studies in physics. These Bridge Experiences will adopt best practices from existing programs, and follow either a Master?s degree or a post-Baccalaureate example. We have brought together Doctoral Granting Institutions (DGIs), Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), and concerned organizations to inform and help build a national effort that will offer sustainable solutions to improved support, mentoring, and progress monitoring to ensure that students make the transition smoothly and complete their studies. Physics offers an ideal test-bed for Bridge Experiences, as only modest numbers of students are required to demonstrate success in mitigating the losses that currently occur in the transition to doctoral studies. We choose to focus on doctoral students because these students will become a cadre of future leaders who can catalyze national change in science education. In addition, the research and assessment components of this project will identify, document, and disseminate best practices that can serve as a model for other disciplines to encourage more of the nation?s capable underrepresented minorities (URM) undergraduates to pursue doctoral degrees. Intellectual Merit This program will use existing knowledge of Bridge Experiences that have demonstrated effectiveness in increasing minority participation at the doctoral level. Our project incorporates strong evidence about support structures that predict academic success of URM students, and establishes links between MSIs and DGIs through research activities, collaboration, and visits. We will conduct research on admissions and retention in physics doctoral programs, and the correlation of GRE scores with successful completion of a PhD. The program will utilize our 30+ year experience in supporting minorities through our Minority Scholarship Program and its associated mentoring efforts, our long-standing connections with the physics research community, and our decade-long efforts in working with individuals and universities to promote teacher education through the Physics Teacher Education Coalition (PhysTEC) project. Broader Impacts This project will provide a model of graduate education for URM students that can be applied to other Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields as well as improved links between MSIs and DGIs. In addition, physics is taken by nearly every STEM student, and significantly increasing the number of minority PhDs in physics will enhance the diversity of the physics academy and professional workforce. This project is intended to meet the challenges posed by the National Academy?s report Rising Above the Gathering Storm, including ensuring that the workforce brings a diverse perspective to scientific and technological challenges. Since many doctoral students we prepare will become tomorrow?s academic, industrial and government leaders, educating more minority PhDs will have a multiplicative effect in educating and inspiring students at all stages in the system, and will help address disparities that persist today.