The APS Bridge Program leadership team recognizes that to reach the goal of eliminating the achievement gap between undergraduate and graduate participation, it is essential to build a large base of institutions that can admit and retain underrepresented ethnic and racial minority (URM) students through an APS student application process.
The APS Bridge Program student applicant database provides access to a unique talent pool for physics departments to facilitate pairings between student applicants and partner institutions.
Since our first priority is to ensure a supportive pairing between student and graduate program, we have established two levels of departmental engagement (Partnership and Membership institutions) to support the goal of broadening participation in physics.
Bridge Program Goals
Institutions that are actively working to improve diversity in the physics community may join. This network of member institutions will share innovative ideas, learn from leaders in the field, and promote awareness of the importance of diversity in physics.
List of Current Member Institutions
To apply for institutional membership, please review and submit the application form.
Please note that the form requires an attached letter from your institution's physics department that includes a statement of support of APS-BP goals and missions, including an endorsement of the Joint Statement of Diversity in Physics.
Partnership institutions have gone through a vetting process to determine if their graduate programs have demonstrated or have plans to demonstrate the best practices of supportive environments for prospective Bridge students.
List of APS Bridge & Partnership Sites
Includes all the benefits of a Membership in addition to the following:
Applications are accepted in March of each year. Further instructions and information about the review process are available at the following links.
APS Bridge Partnership Application
How can departments benefit from the APS Bridge Program?
The APS Bridge Program believes in nurturing a positive culture that supports diversity as well as study. We encourage graduate programs that have demonstrated commitment to working with diverse students and supporting them as graduate scholars to join the Bridge Program as a partnership institution.
Are there other ways for departments that aren't ready to become a partnership institution to learn from the APS Bridge Program?
We encourage departments that aren't ready for partnership status to apply to become a member institution. Membership institutions receive access to information about APS Bridge Program updates, resources, and events.
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1834540. 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.