Georgia Institute of Technology Bridge to the Doctorate program

The overall goal of the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program is to assist universities and colleges in diversifying the nation's science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce by increasing the number of STEM baccalaureate and graduate degrees awarded to persons from LSAMP populations. LSAMP populations are defined as persons from groups underrepresented in the STEM enterprise: Blacks and African-Americans, Hispanic and Latino Americans, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), a member of the Peach State Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (PSLSAMP), led by the University of Georgia (UGA), will host the alliance's second Bridge to the Doctorate (BD) cohort for the 2023-2025 academic years. The cohort will consist of 12 LSAMP alumni pursuing STEM graduate degrees at the institution. The BD program at Georgia Tech creates a campus-based ecosystem that supports students financially, intellectually and socially while helping them develop the networks and social capital to succeed in future academic and professional careers. Using a multi-tiered (circular) recruitment and retention strategy, BD trainees will engage in a variety of activities sponsored by the Center for Engineering Education and Diversity (CEED) and other STEM departments to achieve success in STEM graduate degree completion. The outcome of the BD program implementation contributes to increased diversity in STEM graduate education and the workforce in STEM research and research-related careers in the nation. 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.