M B P M A N A G E M E N T T E A M

Theodore HodappAPS Director of Education and Diversity

Peter MuhoroAPS MBP Project Manager

Sara WebbAPS MBP Project Coordinator

Arlene Modeste KnowlesAPS Career and Diversity Programs Administrator

M B P S T E E R I N G C O M M I T T E E

Cherry Murray (Chair)APS President, 2009

Dean of Engineering and Applied Science Harvard University

J.D. GarciaProfessor Emeritus, University of Arizona

Yolanda GeorgeDeputy Director of AAAS Education Programs

Wendel HillProfessor, University of Maryland

Anthony JohnsonProfessor, University of Maryland Baltimore County

Ramon LopezProfessor, University of Texas at Arlington

Steve McGuireProfessor, Southern University

INCREASING THE NUMBER OF MINORITIES

EARNING PHDs IN PHYSICS

minoritybridgeprogram.comTM

C O N T A C T

Peter MuhoroAmerican Physical Society

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740phone: 301 209 3245 fax: 301 209 3357

muhoro@aps.org

minoritybridgeprogram.com

The American Physical Society (APS) has made a significant commitment to this process; working with organizations, universities, and students to achieve these goals. We propose to increase, within the next decade, the fraction of minority students receiving PhDs to the same fraction that receive bachelor degrees.

A steering committee, consisting of nationally-recognized leaders in physics research, education and minority issues, guides the project.

MINORITY

PROGRAMBRIDGE

AMERICAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY

FRACTION OF MINORITY PHYSICS PHDS

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, IPEDS Completion Survey*Normalized to URM population fraction. 100% on this graph would indicate that the percentage of physics PhDs awarded to URMs would equal the percentage of URMs in the US population.

Nor

mal

ized

Frac

tion

of M

inor

ity P

hDs*

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (2007); IPEDS Completion Survey Department of Education (2002-2007)

MINORITIES IN HIGHER EDUCATION

CollegeAge

Enrolled in College

PhysicsBachelorDegree

Physics DoctoralDegree

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

~500

~30

The percentage of PhDs awarded to this demographic, when adjusted for population growth, has been essentially unchanged for more than a decade. The absolute number of URM physics PhDs entering the workforce each year could be increased if programs are put in place that facilitate the pursuit of graduate education in physics among these minority students.

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

Minorities in physics suffer significant attrition at every level. Each year the US awards roughly 450 bachelors degrees and 30 PhDs to URMs. The transition to PhD is especially important since it produces role models and mentors.

26 PhDsl

American Physical Society’s MINORITY BRIDGE

PROGRAM (MBP) seeks to increase the

representation of African American, Hispanic

American and Native American students earning

doctorate degrees in Physics. We are facilitating

bridge programs between institutions that serve

minority populations and PhD-granting research

institutions with the commitment and resources

to sustain such programs.

 Physics ranks at the bottom when considering

the fraction of students completing either

baccalaureate or doctoral degrees. These

underrepresented minority (URM) students make

up a third of the college-age US citizens and a

quarter of the US undergraduate population.

However, they earn fewer than 10% of the US

physics bachelor’s degrees. There is further

attrition between the bachelor’s and the doctoral

level, with only about 5% to 6% of PhDs granted

to under-represented minorities.

P R O J E C T C O M P O N E N T S

ESTABLISHING BRIDGE PROGRAMS The central focus of any Bridge program must be to help talented students succeed in graduate education. Bridge programs provide an intellectual and cultural transition for students who have potential for success in doctoral education. We plan to establish a few of these programs through

a competitive process at a variety of institutions, to provide adequate capacity for reaching our stated goal of 20 more PhDs each year. APS would provide recruiting throughout the country, including Puerto Rico, for all Bridge programs as well as a

common application process.

BUILD RELATIONSHIPS/RECRUIT STUDENTS The success of a program with the scope of the MBP relies heavily on effective partnerships between program administration and faculty at participating departments. Having close working relationships with faculty is crucial to the recruitment of students into the program. This will be through direct contact with underrepresented minority students at universities and conferences informing students of various opportunities and through summer workshops held to learn from each other’s experience.

DEVELOP PARTNER INSTITUTIONS We will work with a larger cohort of about 20 institutions that demonstrate commitment to working with diverse students and supporting them as graduate scholars. These institutions will also be selected by a competitive process from a broad range of institution types, and must demonstrate activity in mentoring, advising and supporting students intellectually, socially and financially.

PROVIDE OVERSIGHT AND SYNERGISTIC ACTIVITIES The American Physical Society will provide project oversight and pursue centralized activities that can benefit the community as a whole. These include annual recruiting and relationship-building visits; a common application and application mentoring process for Bridge program students; additional institution-independent mentoring for students; act as ombudsman to help mediate solutions to problems; community advocacy; common data collection, analysis, and research on project goals and components; a summer workshop for Bridge students and faculty mentors; and dissemination of project goals, results, and best practices through Society publications.