MS PHD'S Access, Inclusion, and Mentoring (AIM) in Geosciences Program

For twelve years Minorities Striving and Pursuing Higher Degrees of Success in Earth System Science (MS PHD’S) provided professional development, networking opportunities and cohort support via membership within a virtual community comprised of peers, junior- and senior-level researchers and educators. MS PHD’S became a model program within the geoscience community. The current effort seeks to convene subject matter experts, program mentors, staff, mentees and business and industry partners as a planning team to orchestrate the next phase of the program - MS PHD’S Access, Inclusion, and Mentoring (AIM) in Geosciences. The planning team will finalize the MS PHD’S AIM in Geoscience Program’s structure and activities to meet the needs of participants as they move into an even more dynamic, tech-savvy, post-COVID work/learning environment. With support, the planning team will develop the blueprint necessary to launch MS PHD’S AIM as a robust intervention to advance NSF’s mission to promote the progress of science; to advance national health, prosperity and welfare. The MS PHD’S Access, Inclusion, and Mentoring (AIM) in Geosciences Program (MS PHD’S AIM) will support NSF’s mission to promote the progress of science; to advance national health, prosperity and welfare. Given the continued need to facilitate the support and continued professional development for the next generation of geoscience scholars from historically excluded groups, this effort seeks to plan the implementation of the program with the following goals in mind: review past program activities; develop guidance based on current literature; identify and recruit key organizations and individuals; assist in development efforts to achieve sustainability of the initiative; develop specific strategies to enhance broader impacts; ideate possible connections with other STEM fields; and create virtual tools for sustained participant engagement and information sharing. This project is jointly funded by NSF's Geoscience Opportunities for Leadership in Diversity (GOLDEN) and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). 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.