The Fisk-Vanderbilt Masters to PhD Bridge Program: Increasing Diversity in Physics

The Fisk-Vanderbilt Masters to PhD Bridge program, a program which presently has more than thirty minority students in the pipeline headed for a PhD in physics or material science, and now including biology, will be described. A history of the program will be given, and the present status of the program described, including some metrics for measuring success. Our best understanding of the ingredients that have been necessary for the program to succeed will be discussed. Future plans will be described, and the speaker's view of the long-term future will be presented.