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Distributed Mentor Project
Distributed Research Experiences for Undergraduates
from Underrepresented Groups
in Computer Science and Engineering
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Texas A&M University DMP Co-Director (CDC) |
Colorado School of Mines DMP Co-Director (CRA-W) |
University of Minnesota DMP Co-Director (CRA-W) |
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Summer 2008 Application |
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The objective of the DMP is to increase the number of women and underrepresented groups entering graduate studies in the fields of computer science and engineering. This highly selective program matches promising undergraduate women and underrepresented groups with a faculty mentor for a summer research experience at the faculty member's home institution. Students are directly involved in a research project and interact with graduate students and professors on a daily basis. This experience is invaluable for students who are considering graduate school, providing them with a close-up view of what graduate school is really like and also increasing their competitiveness as an applicant for graduate admissions and fellowships.
Distributed Mentor Project Awards
Accomplishments of DMP Participants
Sponsors of the Distributed Mentor Project
The CRA-W DMP has also been supported in 1998-2004 by the Education, Outreach, and Training program of NSF's Partnerships for Advanced Computational Infrastructure (NPACI), and additional support has been provided by the AAAI (2002), USENIX (2001, 2003-2005), and the Henry Luce Foundation (2004-2006).
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More Information about the CRA-W Distributed Mentor Project
The Distributed Mentor Project (CRA-W DMP) was conceived of and managed by the Computing Research Association Committee on the Status of Women in Computing Research (CRA-W) from 1994-2006 with the objective of increasing the number of women entering graduate studies in the fields of computer science and engineering. Since 2007, the program has been jointly administrated by the CRA-W and the Coalition to Diversity Computing (CDC), and its objective has been expanded to encourage computer scientists and engineers from all underrepresented groups to consider graduate school. The DMP experience is invaluable for students who are considering graduate school, providing them with a close-up view of what graduate school is really like and also increasing their competitiveness as an applicant for graduate admissions and fellowships.
The DMP matches promising undergraduates with a faculty mentor for a summer research experience at the faculty member's home institution. Students are directly involved in a research project and interact with graduate students and professors on a daily basis. Students maintain a weekly journal and website documenting their progress on the project. Students and mentors submit a progress report about midway through the summer, and students prepare a technical paper reporting on their project. At the end of the summer, the student websites and final reports are posted on the DMP site at the CRA. In addition, students are also encouraged to submit papers and to present their work to other appropriate journals and conferences.
Funding for the student consists of a weekly stipend plus relocation travel assistance when appropriate. A student's funding is intended to cover 10 weeks of research during the summer, but alternative arrangements are possible. Additional funds may be available to support student conference travel, either during the summer or afterward, and for outreach activities promoting the DMP.
Since 1994, over 400 students from more than 100 different academic institutions have participated in the DMP. From 1994-2001, an average of 25 students participated each year. These numbers have been steadily increasing, and now about 40 students participate in the program each year. The number of student applications has also increased dramatically - from an average of roughly 60 per year from 1994-2001 to more 200 a year now. There is also great interest on the part of potential faculty mentors, with 80-100 applying each year for 25-30 positions.
A third party assessment of the CRA-W DMP by the University of Wisconsin LEAD (Learning through Evaluation, Adaptation and Dissemination) Center has established that the CRA-W DMP is effective in increasing the number of women and underrepresented groups entering graduate studies in CS&CE - for example, they found that students that participate in the CRA-W DMP are twenty(!) times as likely to attend graduate school than a control group with comparable grades. More details about the LEAD Center's evaluation of the CRA-W DMP can be found here.
Other Mentoring Project Pages and Information
Other Useful Links
Contact Information