Collaborative Research: A Bridge to Physics and Astronomy Doctorates for Students with Financial Need

在国家科学基金科学、技术、工程和数学奖学金(S-STEM)项目的资助下，加州州立理工大学波莫纳分校(加州波莫纳分校)的这个项目将支持有经济需求的高成就、低收入学生。该项目将在五年内为攻读物理学和天文学学士学位的学生提供146个奖学金。参与的学者将加入一个以队列为基础的指导和本科生研究计划，该计划涵盖加州50多所高等教育机构组成的多样化网络。这些机构致力于增加攻读物理学、天文学和相关STEM学科博士学位的学生数量。由南加州的CalPoly Pomona和加州大学欧文分校以及北加州的圣何塞州立大学和加州大学圣克鲁斯分校领导，桥网络中加州州立大学(CSU)和加州大学(UC)24个校区的140多名物理和天文学教师将作为该项目支持的学者的导师。除了接受加州大学和加州大学一名教授每两周一次的指导和进度监督外，这些学者还将在三年级和四年级获得全额基于需求的奖学金、每月的专业发展研讨会，以及通过成功的美国国家科学基金会资助的CAMPARE项目监督研究机会。鉴于加州中学教育系统的规模和多样性，S-STEM Track 3项目的成功可能会显著增加全国范围内在物理和天文学领域未被充分代表的少数族裔获得的博士数量。所有在加州州立大学参与校区注册的低收入学生都有资格参加加州桥(Cal-Bridge)项目，该项目使用菲斯克-范德比尔特硕士到博士桥项目等成功的桥项目制定的全面审查和基于研究的标准来寻找具有特殊潜力的学生。与其他现有的桥牌项目不同，加州桥从学生的本科阶段开始，专注于准备而不是补救。这种多方面的支持将减少来自经济困难背景的高成就、积极进取的学生进入研究生院的已知障碍，因此将极大地增加他们完成本科学位并进入博士课程的可能性。该项目还涉及多种方法的社会科学研究，以了解由于少数族裔/拉美裔服务机构与研究型大学之间的伙伴关系而形成的学者和机构网络，以及这些网络对参与的加州大学物理和天文学系的招聘和录取的影响。在五年的时间里，将使用社交网络分析和定性案例研究方法来捕捉加州桥学者研究生院招生和入学的模式，以及这些结果的障碍。这些结果，加上该项目与加州以外机构日益密切的联系，将有可能影响全国低收入学生平等参与STEM高等教育的格局。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

With funding from the NSF's Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) program, this project at California State Polytechnic University Pomona (CalPoly Pomona) will support high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need. This project will fund 146 scholarships over five years for students who are pursuing bachelor's degrees in physics and astronomy. Participating scholars will join a cohort-based mentoring and undergraduate research program spanning a diverse network of more than 50 California higher education institutions. These institutions are dedicated to the goal of increasing the number of students pursuing PhDs in physics, astronomy, and associated STEM disciplines. Led by CalPoly Pomona and the University of California Irvine in Southern California, and by San Jose State University and the University of California Santa Cruz in Northern California, more than 140 physics and astronomy faculty at the 24 California State University (CSU) and University of California (UC) campuses in the bridge network will serve as mentors to scholars supported by the project. In addition to receiving biweekly mentoring and progress monitoring by pairs of one UC and one CSU professor, these scholars will also receive full need-based scholarships during their junior and senior years, monthly professional development workshops, and supervised research opportunities via the successful NSF-funded CAMPARE program.Given the size and diversity of the California secondary education system, the success of this S-STEM Track 3 project will likely significantly increase the number of PhDs nationwide earned by underrepresented minorities in the fields of physics and astronomy. All low-income students enrolled in a participating CSU campus are eligible for this California Bridge (Cal-Bridge) program, which searches for students with unusual potential, using holistic review and research-based criteria developed by successful bridge programs such as the Fisk-Vanderbilt Master's-to-PhD Bridge program. Unlike other existing bridge programs, Cal-Bridge begins with students during their formative undergraduate years, focusing on preparation rather than remediation. This multifaceted support will mitigate known barriers to graduate school entry for high-achieving, motivated students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, and will thus greatly increase the probability they complete their undergraduate degree and gain entry to PhD programs. The project also involves multi-method social science research to understand the networks of scholars and institutions formed because of partnerships between Minority/Hispanic Serving Institutions and Research Universities, and the effect of those networks on recruitment and admissions to participating UC physics and astronomy departments. Over the five-years, social network analysis and qualitative case study methods will be used to capture patterns in Cal-Bridge Scholars' graduate school admissions and enrollment, as well as in impediments to these outcomes. These results, along with the project's growing connections with institutions beyond California, will have the potential to influence the national landscape of equitable participation by low-income students in STEM higher education.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.