FIU receives $1M to promote STEM graduate studies for minority students

Florida International University has been awarded a $1.075 million grant to support minority STEM students through their graduate studies in an effort to encourage greater diversity in the fields of science and technology.

The award is from the National Science Foundation’s Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program, which assists universities and colleges in developing highly competitive students from populations traditionally underrepresented in STEM disciplines: Blacks, Latinos, Native Americans and Native Pacific Islanders.

FIU is a long-time participant in the LSAMP program to support undergraduate students seeking science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) degrees. The recent award, for the Bridge to the Doctorate Fellowship program, will help finance graduate fellows as they continue on the academic path to earning a Ph.D. The program is primarily geared toward encouraging students who might not have considered pursuing a doctoral degree but have demonstrated the potential to do so. 

“The more diverse our graduate population is, the more perspectives we have,” explains Lidia Kos, associate dean of FIU’s University Graduate School, professor of biology and co-director of the LSAMP program. “People coming from different backgrounds, from different cultures, always bring new ideas.”

Recruitment is underway to identify qualified LSAMP fellows by fall 2023 who will be bolstered financially, academically and socially through the cohort-based program. Financial support will enable the students to focus full-time on graduate-level coursework and research for two years. The project also offers essential components of culturally sensitive mentoring, professional development activities, interactive retreats, team-building and peer support.

A key aspect of the grant is providing participants exposure to Artificial Intelligence (AI) that they can incorporate it into their research as they move forward. They will first get instruction on the ethics and uses of AI, which combines computer science and robust datasets to enable problem-solving. Students will then team up to design and execute an interdisciplinary AI project under the supervision of Professor Mark Finlayson, eminent scholar-chaired associate professor of computer science at FIU’s Knight Foundation School of Computing and Information Sciences.

“AI is a big trend right now. It’s potentially a complete game-changer in the evolving world of technology,” says Finlayson, who designed a micro-credential program on AI for FIU. “AI is getting integrated into basically everything. It is going to be ubiquitous. Any place where you have human intellectual activity, you potentially have an application of AI.”

The goal of the Bridge to the Doctorate program is to help students successfully transition into post-graduate careers within industry, government and academia.

“We’re preparing a diverse STEM workforce—including the AI component—because that’s what NSF would like to see — students who are prepared to face the challenges of the 21st-century workforce,” says Alla Mirzoyan, the University Graduate School’s director of training and fellowships and a co-director of FIU’s LSAMP program. She will be overseeing the fellows’ professional development. “We know there is always more to be done in attracting diverse graduate students. So, we are really excited to have this program.”

The NSF grant will defray the costs for a dozen students. To demonstrate its commitment to the program’s mission and to these students, FIU is covering the cost for an additional three students, bringing the total spots to 15.

“The more Ph.D.s you produce among minorities, the more impact you have,” Mirzoyan says. “They then go back and teach, mentor the next generation. So it has a multiplier effect.”

To learn more about the LSAMP Bridge to the Doctorate Fellowship program, including how to apply, visit https://gradschool.fiu.edu/bdfellowship/