Cal-Bridge

Equity in Graduate Education | Research Team | Publications | Projects | Events | News

Cal-Bridge is a project that seeks to diversity the astronomy and physics fields by creating a bridge program between undergraduate and PhD programs for historically underrepresented students in California.

Background and Goals

In 2010, the National Academy of Sciences Decadal Survey of Astronomy stated that blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans account for less than 4 percent of physics and astronomy PhDs awarded in the United States and only 3 percent of faculty members. This survey also showed that women are similarly underrepresented, earning only 20 percent of PhDs in physics and 40 percent of PhDs in astronomy. The Cal-Bridge project seeks to reduce barriers to graduate education for students that are historically underrepresented in astronomy and physics graduate education and promote participation and advancement of these students in PhD programs.

This National Science Foundation-funded project creates a state-wide network of physics and astronomy undergraduate Cal-Bridge Scholars and affiliated faculty mentors from over nine UC campuses, 15 CSU campuses, and 28 community colleges in California. In addition to financial support for their studies, Cal-Bridge undergraduate scholars benefit from intensive, joint mentoring by CSU and UC faculty, professional development workshops and undergraduate research opportunities.

As a co-principal investigator on the Cal-Bridge project, Posselt and her team are using social network analysis and longitudinal departmental case studies to understand the trust networks that emerge in the application process, admission and enrollment of Cal-Bridge scholars. Data collection for the social network analysis will begin in summer 2019 and will continue with each cohort for the duration of the five-year grant; the team will track the emergence and shape of such trust networks through annual and cumulative analysis of the institutions and specific faculty advisors with which Cal-Bridge scholars have applied for graduate study, been admitted and ultimately enroll. Data collection for departmental case studies will be ongoing through annual interviews with key program leaders and department faculty and administrators, observations of admissions committee deliberations and other department events, and focus groups with graduate students, including Cal-Bridge alumni.

For more information about the Cal-Bridge project, visit the Cal-Bridge website at Cal Poly Pomona.

Funder

This project is funded by a National Science Foundation award under grant No. DUE-1741798. The official title of the grant is “Cal-Bridge: A California Bridge to Astronomy and Physics PhDs for California State University and Community College Students.” Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Pullias Research Team

Julie Posselt
Associate Professor of Education