About ACS Bridge Program

The American Chemical Society Bridge Program (ACS-BP) is an effort to increase the number of chemical science PhDs awarded to underrepresented minority (URM) students. As part of a national effort, the Inclusive Graduate Education Network (IGEN), ACS-BP is doing 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. The ACS-BP is modelled after the successful American Physical Society (APS) Bridge Program.

The ACS Bridge project incorporates practices from programs that have strong evidence of success in supporting URM students. The ACS-BP will also establish links between minority-serving and doctoral-granting institutions through research activities, collaboration, and personal contacts. Since many of today’s doctoral students will become tomorrow’s academic, industrial and government leaders, educating more URM PhDs will have a multiplicative effect in educating and inspiring students at all stages in the system and will help address persistent disparities.  

The ACS-BP mission is to strengthen the chemical sciences in the United States by increasing the number of underrepresented minority students who receive doctoral degrees in chemical sciences.

The American Chemical Society Bridge Program (ACS-BP) is an effort to increase the number of chemical science PhDs awarded to underrepresented minority (URM) students, defined by the project as African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans. The ACS-BP does 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.