About the Bridge Program

The American Physical Society Bridge Program (APS-BP) is an effort to increase the number of physics PhDs awarded to underrepresented minority (URM) students, defined by the project as African Americans, Hispanic Americans and Native Americans. APS-BP will do this by creating sustainable transition (bridge) programs and a national network of doctoral granting institutions that provide substantial mentoring for students to successfully complete PhD programs.

Program Goals

• Increase, within a decade, the fraction of physics PhDs awarded to underrepresented minority students to match the fraction of physics Bachelor’s degrees granted to these groups
• Develop, evaluate, and document sustainable model bridging experiences that improve the access to and culture of graduate education for all students, with emphasis on those underrepresented in doctoral programs in physics
• Promote and disseminate successful program components to the physics community

Bridge & Partnership Sites

The APS Bridge Program provides selected institutions with funding to build bridge programs and improve mentoring efforts.

• Bridge Sites: A Master’s or doctoral granting institution that will devise a program that prepares students to apply, and be accepted into a physics doctoral program.
• Partnership Sites: Doctoral granting institutions that have received Bridge Program approval and are committed to providing transitional support for APS Bridge Fellows entering these programs.

Member Institutions

APS Bridge Program membership is free and available to colleges, universities, national labs, non-profits, and educational organizations committed to improving diversity in the physics community. Membership Institutions do not receive direct funding, but benefit from:

• Registration discounts for Bridge Program conferences and workshops
• Immediate, focused Bridge Program updates
• Access to funding opportunities
• APS support in improving diversity in your physics department
• Synopses of relevant policy, research, and programmatic information
• Use of project-generated statistics (PowerPoint slides, data plots, etc.)

Learn how to join!

Conferences & Workshops

APS organizes conferences and workshops addressing diversity in physics undergraduate and graduate education, including:

• APS Bridge Program Conferences
• Conferences on Graduate Education
• Physics Department Chair Conferences