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Alabama Alliance Minority Programs

The Alabama Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AAGEP) and Alabama Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (ALSAMP) work hand-in-hand with other grant funed minority support programs to promote baccalaureate and graduate education for underrepresented minorities in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.

Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) Summer Research Program

The Alabama Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) is a family of competitive, merit-based programs sponsored in Alabama by the State and by The National Science Foundation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Agriculture. These programs are a Federal-State-industrial partnership formed to enhance the science and engineering research, education and technology capabilities of Alabama. Cooperating partners in Alabama EPSCoR include twenty-six Alabama colleges and universities and 118 industrial, federal laboratory and governmental partners including the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs and the Alabama Commission on Higher Education. The operating principles of Alabama EPSCoR and the Alabama Economic Development office are to support projects which address the special needs of Alabama and contribute to the state-wide development of scientific and engineering capabilities.

LSAMP Scholars Program

The Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program is designed to develop the comprehensive strategies necessary to strengthen the preparation and increase the number of minority students who successfully complete baccalaureates in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. This objective facilitates the long-term goal of increasing the production of Ph.D.'s in STEM fields with an emphasis on entry into faculty positions.

The LSAMP program requires each awardee to establish meaningful partnerships among academic institutions and encourages the inclusion of government agencies and laboratories, industry and professional organizations. It is expected that successful partnerships will enable development of approaches tailored to the institutional setting for achievement of program goals in STEM undergraduate education. Supported activities include, among others: student enrichment, such as collaborative learning, skill development and mentoring; academic enrichment, such as curricular and instructional improvement; and direct student support, such as summer activities.

LSAMP Summer Bridge Program

The Summer Bridge Program offered by the Alabama Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (ALSAMP) is a cooperative effort between The National Science Foundation and the Alabama LSAMP Alliance. The Summer Bridge Program focuses on enabling participating minority high school graduates to achieve a smooth transition to college life.

The Summer Bridge Program emphasizes three areas: academic instruction, academic skills and life skills. Academic instruction covers math and English. Academic skills include supervised study sessions, communication skills and study skills. Life skills include teaming through group activities under the supervision of program staff.

Minority Scholars Program

The Minority Scholars Program (MSP) provides special resources and services designed to help prepare students to further their education after graduation or enter the job market. The multifaceted program focuses on academic excellence and social development. The program takes students from their freshman year to graduation and beyond, which exemplifies the program's motto, "each one, reach one."

Summer Research Internships

Nine week Summer Research Internships allow participants to work on research activities under the guidance of a research mentor. Students are allowed to enroll in a maximum of two courses during the internship period and attend weekly seminars. Interns are required to display the results of their research at the Summer Internship Conference.

Bridge to the Doctorate Program

The Directorate for Education and Human Resources through the Division of Human Resource Development (HRD) funds the LSAMP supplemental activity, “Bridge to the Doctorate.” The goal of these supplements is to fund initial graduate degree bridge activity at LSAMP Alliance institutions. This activity broadens participation through the attraction of underrepresented minority students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Additionally, this activity seeks to remove minority students’ hesitancy about entering graduate school and the fear of creating additional financial indebtedness associated with initial graduate education.

Bridge to Teaching Fellowship Program

The Alabama LSAMP Alliance is piloting a Bridge to Teaching (BT) program at The University of Alabama at Birmingham designed to attract graduates from science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines at the baccalaureate level and offer a program in which students may become certified to teach in a STEM discipline at the secondary level and earn a master’s degree simultaneously.

Students selected to participate in the program must be graduates of an existing National Science Foundation Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation program and have an interest in teaching at the secondary level.

Graduate Bridge Program

The Graduate Bridge Program is designed to assist students with their transition into a doctoral program.