Cal-Bridge: A California Bridge to Astronomy and Physics PhDs for California State University and Community College Students

项目摘要总统科学技术顾问理事会（PCAST）在2012年2月的报告中指出，“联邦机构应鼓励研究型大学和社区学院或其他没有研究项目的机构之间建立合作的项目。在2010年天文学十年调查中，解决天文学和物理学缺乏多样性的首要战略之一是“社区学院和少数民族服务机构与研究型大学以及国家中心和实验室建立伙伴关系。“Cal-Bridge正是这样一个项目。 Cal-Bridge计划的使命，同时向所有符合选拔标准的学生开放，是增加代表性不足的少数民族（URM）和女性学生完成学士学位并进入天文学，物理学或密切相关领域的博士课程的人数。 该计划利用一套理想的机构来解决这一全国性问题。 Cal-Bridge计划由加州南部的高等教育机构组成：5所加州大学（UC）校区，8所加州州立大学（CSU）校区和8所社区学院。 通过识别和指导学生通过从本科STEM专业到顶级博士课程的关键过渡，Cal-Bridge将对获得物理学和天文学博士学位的代表性不足的少数民族和女性学生的数量产生重大的全国影响，从而成为全国少数民族服务机构的典范。使命通过CSU和UC教师提供密集，持续，联合指导学生来实现，旨在提高Cal-Bridge学者在完成本科学位方面的坚持性，并成功进入并完成博士课程。Cal-Bridge计划将使用成功的桥梁计划（如Fisk Vanderbilt硕士到博士桥梁计划）制定的基于研究的标准，寻找具有“未开发潜力”的学生。招聘渠道将通过非常成功的CAMPARE夏季研究计划及其附属学校进行。在过去的5年里，这个由NSF资助的项目成功地为来自20个CSU和社区学院的大量学生提供了在世界一流研究机构的真实夏季研究经验，这些学生大多是西班牙裔服务机构，所有这些都是Cal-Bridge项目的一部分。每年向外部评价员提供中期进展报告、年度调查、参与者访谈、数据收集/统计分析。 通过使用中期进度报告持续形成反馈，确保每个学生的进步和成功。 此外，还有总结性反馈，供指导委员会进行年度审查。

PROJECT ABSTRACTThe President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) in their February 2012 report noted that "Federal agencies should encourage projects that establish collaborations between research universities and community colleges or other institutions that do not have research programs." In the 2010 Decadal Survey of Astronomy one of the top strategies to address the lack of diversity in astronomy and physics is "Partnerships of community colleges and minority serving institutions with research universities and with national centers and laboratories." Cal-Bridge is exactly such a program. The mission of the Cal-Bridge program, while open to all students who meet the selection criteria, is to increase the number of underrepresented minority (URM) and female students completing a bachelor's degree and entering a PhD program in astronomy, physics, or closely related fields. The program leverages an ideal set of institutions to address this national problem. The Cal-Bridge program comprises a diverse network of higher education institutions in southern California: 5 University of California (UC) campuses, 8 California State University (CSU) campuses, and 8 community colleges. By identifying and mentoring students through the critical transition from undergraduate STEM major to top-level PhD programs, Cal-Bridge will have a significant national impact on the number of underrepresented minority and female students obtaining a PhD in physics and astronomy, thus serving as a model for minority-serving institutions nationwide.The mission is achieved by providing intensive, sustained, joint mentoring of students by CSU and UC faculty, aimed at increasing the persistence of Cal-Bridge Scholars in completing their undergraduate degree, and successfully entering and completing a PhD program. The Cal-Bridge program will search for students with "untapped potential", using research-based criteria developed by successful bridge programs such as the Fisk-Vanderbilt Masters-to-PhD Bridge program. The recruiting pipeline will be via the highly successful CAMPARE summer research program and its feeder schools. This NSF-funded program has in the past 5 years successfully provided authentic summer research experiences at world-class research institutions to a large number students from a network of 20 CSUs and community colleges, mostly Hispanic-serving institutions, all of which are part of the Cal-Bridge program.Official transcripts are collected quarterly for each student. Mid-term progress reports, annual surveys, participant interviews, data collection/statistical analysis are provided annually to the external evaluator. Continual formative feedback through the use of Mid-Term Progress reports ensures each student's progress and success. In addition there is summative feedback for annual review by the Steering Committee.