ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES | APRIL 2024 22 groups majoring in STEM during the transition from high school to college. Bridge programs vary in their focus on professional development, academic support, research experiences, social activities, and in other areas, but all share an intention to support students during their transition to college. Another proven best practice for effective STEM undergraduate education that promotes retention of underrepresented students is undergraduate research experiences[21-22]. Participation in undergraduate research activities has also been shown to encourage underrepresented students to pursue graduate education in STEM disciplines[7,23]. Other best practices for recruiting underrepresented STEM graduate students include establishing and expanding programs to identify talented undergraduate students for graduate programs, summer enrichment programs, and early identification programs[23-25]. Approaches that take into consideration both the process and the person have been most successful in retaining underrepresented students in STEM graduate programs. This includes developing programs for underrepresented graduate student cohorts during the first two years, faculty mentoring, and inclusion in departmental and scholarly activities[7,24-26]. BEST PRACTICES In summary, it is necessary to reimagine how the pipeline for metallurgical and materials engineers is built and maintained to be more in line with the demographics of society to meet the workforce demand. Some proven best practices on how to accomplish this include: • A coordinated approach to recruiting and retention consisting of campus- wide involvement and an institutional atmosphere of commitment to success is essential for effective and successful education of underrepresented students in STEM programs. • Summer bridge programs for underrepresented undergraduates have a proven positive effect on STEM retention. TABLE 2 — METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS ENGINEERING M.S. DEGREES AWARDED BY DEMOGRAPHICS 2019 TO 2022[15-18] M.S. degrees 2019 2020 2021 2022 Underrepresented (race/ethnicity) [% of all engineering degrees] 83 (7.1%) [6.6%] 96 (7.4%) [6.9%] 79 (6.9%) [7%] 95 (9.1%) [8.8%] Women [% of all engineering degrees] 360 (30.6%) [27%] 369 (28.5%) [28.1%] 359 (31.3%) [28.9%] 367 (35.1%) [29.5%] Total metallurgy/ materials M.S. degrees 1176 1295 1147 1017 TABLE 3 — METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS ENGINEERING Ph.D. DEGREES AWARDED BY DEMOGRAPHICS 2019 TO 2022[15-18] Ph.D. degrees 2019 2020 2021 2022 Underrepresented (race/ethnicity) [% of all engineering degrees] 32 (3.9%) [4.4%] 45 (6%) [4.4%] 46 (7.3%) [4.8%] 47 (5.9%) [4.9%] Women [% of all engineering degrees] 237 (29.1%) [24.1%] 216 (28.7%) [23.9%] 200 (31.9%) [25.5%] 250 (31.6%) [26.1%] Total metallurgy/ materials Ph.D. degrees 814 752 627 791 engineering is consistently higher at all degree levels compared to the overall average for degrees awarded to women in all engineering disciplines. BUILDING THE PIPELINE The STEM pipeline analogy is well known and used by STEM educators to illustrate the success of movement through the scientific educational and training process from the precollege levels to more advanced postgraduate levels. The unintended loss of talent in STEM disciplines occurs due to various factors that result in STEM attrition. Thus, key intervention strategies are necessary to increase persistence, reduce attrition, and successfully increase diversity in the STEM pipeline and workforce[19]. The study “Variability in STEM Summer Bridge Programs: Associations with Belonging and STEM Self-Efficacy” by Barth et al.,[20] examined how differences in students’ satisfaction with their experiences are associated with feelings of belonging and STEM self-efficacy, two factors associated with STEM retention. An interesting finding in this study was that the advantages that Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have over Predominately White Institutions (PWIs) in promoting a sense of belonging and STEM self-efficacy were lessened by students’ participation in the summer bridge program. Summer bridge programs have been successful in addressing the challenges facing students from underrepresented racial and ethnic
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