North County San Diego Bridges to the Baccalaureate Program

The North County San Diego Bridges to the Baccalaureate (NCSD B2B) program supports the NIH/NIGMS goal of growing the biomedical workforce by increasing the successful transfer rates of promising science majors from community colleges to 4-year institutions. The NCSD B2B program continues a 20-year successful B2B consortium of the partner institutions of California State University San Marcos (CSUSM), Palomar College and MiraCosta College. This new B2B Program will focus on the academic development and seamless transfer of Palomar and MiraCosta community college students to CSUSM or other 4-year institutions. The NCSD B2B Program targets STEM students early in their community college attendance to enroll them in an up to two-year structured academic, research, and career awareness and development program. By targeting students during this high dropout period, the program helps prepare them academically, creates individual development plans for successful transferring, helps foster their science identities through peer-mentoring and training in rigorous and reproducible research practices. In brief, the specific aims of the NCSD B2B Program include: building a large pool of promising science majors for the Bridges Program through proactive recruitment activities; empowering Bridges Scholars to accumulate academic credentials and professional skills necessary to pursue Bachelor’s degrees and careers in the Biomedical Sciences through newly designed curriculum, Supplemental Instruction, academic support and skill workshops; engaging Bridges Scholars in meaningful Biomedical research and career experiences including exposure to the breadth of biomedical fields, placement in faculty research labs (often with STEM peers or Bridges alumni), attendance of research seminars, and conferences; expose students to pedagogy to increase belonging and persistence through seminars, workshops and social activities; support participation in a Summer Training Program to enhance research and quantitative skills during a summer research experience and workshops; and ensure efficient transfer of Bridges Scholars to 4-year institutions and ultimately completion of a bachelor’s degree through frequent and long-term mentoring, and other curricular activities. Of the 226 students who completed the CSUSM Bridges program in the last 15 years, 211 have transferred to 4-year institutions (93%), and 204 (90%) have or are on track to obtain their bachelor’s degree (145 completed, 59 in progress). In addition, 49 (22%) are in progress or have completed a Ph.D., M.D. or D.O. program (16 complete, 33 in progress). The NCSD B2B Program will continue this successful history of expanding the biomedical workforce by giving students the necessary education, experience, and mindset to pursue biomedical higher degree programs and research careers.