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Chapter 6
The Fisk-Vanderbilt Masters-to-PhD Bridge Program: Broadening Participation of Underrepresented Minorities in the Physical Sciences Keivan G. Stassun*,1,2 1Department
of Physics & Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, VU Station B 1807, Nashville, Tennessee 37235, United States 2Physics Department, Fisk University, 1000 17th Ave. N., Nashville, Tennessee 37208, United States *E-mail:
[email protected].
We describe the Fisk-Vanderbilt Masters-to-PhD Bridge program as a model for increasing PhDs to underrepresented groups in the physical sciences. The program couples targeted recruitment with active retention strategies, and is built upon a clearly defined mentoring structure that addresses individual student needs while maintaining high standards for student performance. An essential insight is that student potential must be evaluated with metrics (such as “grit”) that are much less biased against women and minorities than standardized tests (e.g., GRE). A key precept of the program philosophy is to eliminate passivity in student mentoring; students are deliberately groomed for the transition to the PhD program through active involvement in research experiences with future PhD advisers, coursework that demonstrates competency in core PhD subject areas, and frequent interaction with joint advising committees. This allows student progress to be monitored effectively and performance to be evaluated holistically. Since 2004, the program has attracted nearly 120 students, 85% of them underrepresented minorities, 45% of them women, with a PhD completion rate of 82%, making Fisk and Vanderbilt top producers of minorities earning master’s and PhD degrees in astronomy, physics, and materials science. © 2017 American Chemical Society
Waterman and Feig; Educational and Outreach Projects from the Cottrell Scholars Collaborative Undergraduate and Graduate ... ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2017.
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Introduction The under-representation of minorities in the space sciences is an order-of-magnitude problem, and is one of the major challenges facing the nation’s science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce as a whole (1). Black-, Hispanic-, and Native-Americans comprise more than 25% of the U.S. population, yet represent only ~3% of all astronomy and astrophysics PhD’s earned (National Survey of Earned Doctorates; NSED). In raw numbers, this translates into an average minority PhD production rate of about five individuals per year. Put another way, each of the roughly 50 astronomy and astrophysics PhD programs in the U.S. has an average PhD production rate of one underrepresented minority every ten years (2). This pattern of underrepresentation has remained largely unchanged for the past 30 years. Significantly, only about 40% of all PhDs earned in space science related disciplines are awarded to U.S. citizens and permanent residents (NSED). Minority-serving institutions are important producers of domestic minority talent in the sciences. Roughly one-third of all STEM baccalaureate degrees earned by African-Americans are earned at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and the top 15 producers of Black baccalaureates in physics are all HBCUs. Just 20 HBCUs were responsible for producing fully 55% of all Black physics baccalaureates in the U.S. for 1998 to 2007 (3). Institutional partnerships with HBCUs are thus a promising avenue for broadening participation in the physical sciences (4). At the same time, recent research on the educational pathways of minority students in STEM disciplines indicates that these students are roughly twice as likely as their non-minority counterparts to seek a master’s degree en route to the doctorate (5). These facts motivate programmatic approaches aimed at deliberately preparing underrepresented minority students for success as they traverse the critical Masters-to-PhD transition. Here we describe a program developed in partnership between Vanderbilt University, a PhD-granting R-1 university, and Fisk University, a research active HBCU, both in Nashville, Tennessee. The Fisk-Vanderbilt Masters-to-PhD Bridge Program (see www.fisk.edu/bridge) is for students who seek additional coursework or research experience before beginning PhD-level work. Students are not evaluated on the basis of GRE but rather on alternative metrics that are predictive of long-term success. The program provides a continuous path—a bridge—to the PhD that we have found is particularly effective for students whose baccalaureate degrees are from small, minority-serving institutions, and who may for a variety of reasons seek a master’s degree en route to the PhD. The program is flexible and tailored to the goals of each student. Courses are selected to address any gaps in undergraduate preparation, and research experiences are designed to pave the way for PhD-level work in the chosen area of study. While at Fisk, students enjoy regular interaction with Vanderbilt faculty including access to Vanderbilt courses and, of critical importance, thesis research performed under the joint supervision of Vanderbilt and Fisk faculty. In all cases, we deliberately develop research-based mentoring relationships between students and faculty that will foster a successful transition to the PhD. 98 Waterman and Feig; Educational and Outreach Projects from the Cottrell Scholars Collaborative Undergraduate and Graduate ... ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2017.
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The Importance of Masters-to-PhD Transitions for Underrepresented Minorities Master’s education is a growing enterprise in U.S. colleges and universities. Much of that growth has been attributed to the entrance of students of color. In the decade between 1990 and 2000, the total number of master’s degree recipients increased by 42%. During this same time period, the number of women earning master’s degrees increased by 56%, African Americans increased by 132%, American Indians by 101%, and Hispanics by 146% (6). A recent studyv provides critical new insight into the role of the master’s degree as underrepresented minority students proceed to the doctorate in STEM disciplines. Data from the NSED was used to examine institutional pathways to the doctorate, and transitions from masters’ to doctoral programs by race and gender, for a sample of more than 80,000 PhDs. As shown in Figure 1, the study identified six primary pathways to the PhD. Statistical analysis reveals that pathways are significantly different for underrepresented minorities (χ2=49.1, df=18, p
