Bridge to success and inclusivity
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Bridge to success and inclusivity The American Physical Society’s Bridge Program increases the output of doctorates awarded to underrepresented graduate students in the physical sciences. By Roy Clarke and Çagliyan Kurdak
A
t some point in our professional lives, we all have a bridge to cross. More often than not, an inspiring mentor has been critical in helping us along the way. This is most true when undergraduate students aspire to transition into graduate studies from being passive receptors of knowledge into full-fledged research innovators. For many, this is a daunting challenge beset with hurdles, not all of them relevant to the eventual success as a creator of knowledge. In this article, we discuss some initiatives under way to address the lack of diversity in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Our aim is to touch on some of the most recent developments that are especially of interest to the Materials Research Society (MRS) and its members.
Challenges
The challenges encountered by underrepresented and nontraditional students
(e.g., those in the workforce seeking additional qualifications) can be particularly frustrating, especially given the persistent and widespread “gatekeeper” culture that continues to pervade physical sciences and engineering. The American Physical Society’s (APS) Bridge Program, initiated in 2012, seeks to increase the output of doctorates awarded to graduate students from underrepresented groups in the physical sciences in the United States by promoting innovative approaches to recruiting and nurturing students. While many scientific fields struggle with diversity, physics especially is among the least diverse. This situation is only marginally better for materials science and engineering. (See the Diversity in Materials Science and Engineering Series in the 2018 MRS Bulletin at www.mrs.org/bulletin/diversity.) According to APS, approximately 12% of all students receiving bachelor’s degrees in physics in the United States are from underrepresented racial and ethnic minority backgrounds, which includes African Americans, Hispanic and Latin Americans, Indigenous Americans, and Pacific Islanders, whereas only 7% of PhD students come from such groups. With the goal of essentially doubling the number of physics doctoral students from these communities at US universities during the next few years, the APS Bridge Program focuses on improving the mentoring of undergraduates, modifying admission practices for graduates, recruiting students who might not otherwise have considered entering graduate studies, and providing ongoing mentoring for such students.
Building bridges
The genesis of this bridge-building approach can be traced back to the
establishment of a radical new interdisciplinary doctoral program at the University of Michigan (UM)–Ann Arbor, in 1987. The UM Applied Physics (AP) Program was set up with the express purpose of enhancing research and graduate training collaborations between the Physics Department and various departments of the En
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