BPC-DP: Distributed REsearch Apprenticeships for Master’s (DREAM)

女性、黑人/非裔美国人、西班牙裔/拉丁裔美国人、印第安人、夏威夷人、阿拉斯加人、亚太岛民和残疾人在计算机和技术领域一直被边缘化。为了扭转这一趋势，吸引更多来自这些群体的学生进入这一领域，MSCS计算机之路联盟的13所大学为非计算机科学学士学位的学生创建了“通往计算机科学硕士的桥梁”课程。分布式研究硕士学徒（DREAM）项目的主要目标是从前面提到的群体中增加攻读计算机科学博士学位的学生数量，并最终增加计算机教授的多样性。DREAM是模仿计算机研究协会扩大参与委员会（CRA-WP）的本科生分布式研究经验（DREU）计划，该计划在鼓励不同的本科生参加计算机科学研究生课程方面非常成功。DREAM资助来自不同背景的财团学生在其硕士学位课程期间参加研究经历。在这个队列模型中，学生参与了一个强大的指导计划，各种社区建设和网络机会，指导研究，专业发展，并有机会参加技术会议。在他们的研究经历结束时，学生将开始将自己视为计算机领域的研究人员，并受到启发，通过博士学位进行进一步的研究。联盟项目的多样化人口统计提供了一个独特的机会，可以从以前未开发的学生群体中招募博士生。除了对参与项目的学生群体产生直接影响之外，DREAM项目还为那些传统上被计算机领域边缘化的学生提供了一条通往博士学位的途径，这种途径可以在全国范围内推广。项目组正与CRA-WP密切合作，以确保在试点实施结束时顺利移交项目。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

People who identify as Female, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, Native American, Hawaiian, Alaskan, Asian Pacific Islander, and people with disabilities have been traditionally marginalized in the computing and tech fields. To reverse this trend and attract more students from these populations to the field, the 13 universities in the MSCS Pathways to Computing Consortium created “bridge to an MS in Computer Science” programs for students with non-CS bachelor’s degrees. The primary goal of the Distributed REsearch Apprenticeships for Master’s (DREAM) project is to increase the number of students pursuing a Ph.D. in CS from the groups mentioned previously and, ultimately, increase the diversity of the computing professoriate. DREAM is modeled after the Computing Research Association’s Committee on Widening Participation’s (CRA-WP) Distributed Research Experiences for Undergraduates (DREU) program, which has been very successful at encouraging diverse undergraduate students to enroll in CS graduate programs. DREAM funds Consortium students from diverse backgrounds to participate in a research experience during their M.S. degree program. In this cohort model, students participate in a robust mentoring program, various community building and networking opportunities, guided research, professional development, and have opportunities to attend technical conferences. At the end of their research experience, students will begin to see themselves as researchers in computing and be inspired to pursue further research through a Ph.D. The diverse demographics of the Consortium programs provide a unique opportunity to recruit Ph.D. students from a previously untapped population of students. Beyond the immediate impact on the cohort of participating students, DREAM creates a pathway to a Ph.D. for students traditionally marginalized away from the computing field that can be scaled nationally. The project team is working in close collaboration with CRA-WP to ensure a smooth handoff of the program at the conclusion of the pilot implementation.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.