Student Access & Recruitment

Inaugurated in 2019, AGU's Bridge Program was initiated to develop, adopt, and share inclusive practices for recruiting, admitting and retaining women and underrepresented students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics graduate programs. AGU members are encouraged to share information about the AGU Bridge Program with any current or prospective students who may have an interest in pursuing graduate degrees in the Earth and space sciences. African American, Hispanic, American Indian, Pacific Islander, Alaskan Native and Native Hawaiian students who want to join the Bridge Program can take advantage of a free common graduate school application that will be shared with multiple partner institutions. UCI's Department of Earth System Science was one of the inaugural partners of the AGU Bridge Program.

On June 25, 2021, the UCI Department of Physics & Astronomy became a Bridge Partner Institution of the American Physical Society (APS).  The Bridge Program offers institution membership to colleges and universities as well as national labs, non-profits, and educational organizations that play supporting roles in improving diversity in physics education. Becoming a Bridge Partner Institution means the department’s now a place where physics students from underrepresented groups can come and get the experience they need to get them ready to apply to doctoral programs. This includes completing coursework the students may not have had access to before, as well as getting the kind of research experience they need to start an academic career.

The Cal-Bridge program is designed for California State University (CSU) students interested in pursuing a Ph.D. in physics, astronomy, or a related field. The program utilizes research-validated selection methods to identify students from underrepresented groups who display strong skills along with academic potential - and provides them with the support necessary to successfully matriculate to a Ph.D program, ideally at a UC campus.

The UCI S-STEM Physics Scholars program, sponsored by the National Science Foundation, aims to increase retention and graduation rates of physics and applied physics majors at UCI, with a focus on students from low-income backgrounds. The program provides opportunities for peer mentoring, increased academic support, and research and industry networking. The program will also provide at least 60 scholarships to financially-eligible and academically meritorious students at UCI who are majoring in physics or applied physics. For more information about the program, contact Professor Tucker (tucker@uci.edu).