Bridge to the Doctorate Fellowship Opportunity

Dear Colleagues:

We are pleased to invite you to apply for a unique Ph.D. advising opportunity.  For the third time UConn recently received NSF funding to support two-year fellowships for 12 qualifying Ph.D. students from underrepresented populations. This support is provided through the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation’s (LSAMP) “Bridge to the Doctorate” program, which aims to increase the success rate and number of minority students as they seek to earn their doctoral degrees in STEM disciplines.

Bridge to the Doctorate (BD) Advisors will be expected to thoughtfully mentor, support and assist their BD Fellows in their career development.  Interested faculty members who wish to be considered for the role of BD Advisor may apply as follows:

• Submit a one-page abstract (suitable for publication on the dedicated Husky BD STEM website) describing a sample research project that a BD Fellow may pursue under your guidance;
• Submit a one-page summary of the mentoring activities you will provide to a BD Fellow, should you be selected, throughout the student’s graduate studies; and plans to provide support for the BD Fellow beyond the initial two year support;
• Submit an abbreviated CV suitable for publication on the dedicated Husky BD STEM website;
• Read, sign, date and return the attached MOU attesting to your commitment to the suite of BD Activity mentoring activities described in the MOU.

Please APPLY now!

The BD Review Board will review all faculty applications. The board will not provide written reviews to faculty applicants. Those applications selected will be posted on the Husky BD STEM website.  BD Fellows will review research opportunities posted on the website and choose their preferred project and BD Advisor.

NOTE: Only those projects (1) approved by the BD Review Board and (2) selected by a BD Fellow will proceed under the auspices of the Bridge to the Doctorate program.

About the BD Fellows

Ph.D.-seeking, full-time students from underrepresented populations (African American, Hispanic American, American Indian, Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian, or Native Pacific Islander); who earned their B.S. and/or M.S. degree in a STEM discipline at an LSAMP institution; and have been admitted into UConn’s Graduate School and one of the following schools/colleges, are eligible to apply for the Bridge to the Doctorate Fellowships: College of Engineering, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and School of Pharmacy.

Funding

The BD Activity provides two years of support ($32,000/calendar year plus tuition) for each qualifying BD Fellow, contingent on Fellows’ academic standing, fulfillment of the BD Activity requirements, and continued status as a full-time Ph.D. student in a STEM discipline. Faculty will be expected to support their BD Fellows (grant funding) through completion of the Ph.D. program.

For questions and further information please contact Aida Ghiaei at aida.ghiaei@uconn.edu, http://www.b2d.uconn.edu/