Building Bridges to the Professoriate (BB2P) is a joint program between UC Riverside, Cal State Fresno and Fullerton funded by the UC-HSI Doctoral Diversity Initiative (UC-HSI-DDI). The program, which is an extension of CUSP, provides research support and mentoring to undergraduate and Master's students at the Cal States who are interested in going to graduate school. The goal of BB2P (and UC-HSI-DDI) is to diversify the professoriate; it is aimed at groups typically underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). There are two tracks to BB2P: Track 1 students (new to research) and Track 2 (enhancing existing research).
BB2P Scholar - Track 1
Track 1 BB2P scholars participate in summer research at UCR in the Mentoring Summer Research Internship Program (MSRIP). They are provided with housing and a stipend for the Summer (June 24th to August 16th, 2024) and participate in research under the direction of a UCR faculty member.
Track 2 BB2P scholars are already actively engaged in research at their Cal State campus. They will present their research at the Mentoring Summer Research Internship Program (MSRIP) Symposium in August and have a UCR faculty mentor as well as a CUSP graduate student mentor.
Track 2 scholars participate in summer workshops hosted by MSRIP, participate in the BB2P-CUSP orientation meeting in-person at UCR in March/April and become a member of the CUSP-BB2P community.
Track 2 scholars will also have a mentor from the CUSP program - a UCR graduate student advanced to candidacy who will provide advice about their experience in applying to PhD programs, life as a graduate student and career opportunities after graduate school. Click here for more details about Track 2 expectations and outcomes.
Eligibility: Undergraduate and Master's students with a current research adviser at their Cal State.
Undergraduates must be in good academic standing and have 1 to 2 years until graduation.
Master's students must be in good academic standing and have at least 1 year until graduation.
We seek UCR faculty who want to inspire the next generation of professors in STEM by providing mentoring to a student from a Cal State campus so that they can successfully apply to graduate school.
The Student will participate in research at UCR in the Mentoring Summer Research Internship Program (MSRIP) (Track 1) or at their home campus in Fresno or Fullerton (Track 2).
The UCR faculty will meet with the Cal State student in-person during the summer and introduce them to their lab and research at an R1 institution. The faculty will stay in contact by Zoom during the year and participate in the annual networking event of CUSP/BB2P in Spring. Click here for BB2P Faculty Mentor Expectations and Outcomes.
Mentors from all STEM fields are welcome; experience mentoring underrepresented students is desirable but not required.