PROJECT SUMMARY Texas State University (TxSt) and its partner in this Bridge-to-the-Doctorate Program application, the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio; UTHSA), are both designated Hispanic- Serving Institutions and actively support and promote various programs targeting students from historically marginalized groups (HMGs). We are partnering for a new T32 institutional training grant, the Texas Doctoral Bridge Program (TDBP), which aims to increase the diversity of the biomedical workforce by preparing and recruiting outstanding M.S. students from TxSt for competitive and high quality biomedical Ph.D. programs, such as that found at UTHSA. Over the last ten years, TxSt has established an excellent record in training biochemistry M.S. students for doctoral programs. In particular, NIH support of these trainees through an R25 grant program strongly impacted the Biochemistry M.S. program by reducing overall time-to-degree while simultaneously increasing the proportion of students from HMGs (from ~20% to ~50%). More than 70% of the NIH-supported trainees from this R25 program were bridged to doctoral degree programs with many completing the Ph.D. and transitioning to postdoc positions or other careers of choice. This new T32 will support to up to 14 eligible students per year, who are enrolled in thesis-based M.S. degree programs in departments across the College of Science and Engineering at TxSt, to include biology, biochemistry, chemistry, mathematics, and computer science tracks. Concurrently, this collaborative training program will foster a strong research and training relationship between faculty at UTHSA and TxSt. We anticipate that inter-institutional rigorous research thesis projects that utilize the scientific resources at UTHSA will enhance the capability of trainees from HMGs at TxSt to be competitive for, gain admission into, and thrive within high quality research doctoral programs in biomedical science. Our program objectives are to: 1) increase the diversity and inclusion of HM students in thesis-based, biomedical M.S. degree programs at TxSt, 2) develop trainee skillsets to ensure the transition to Ph.D. programs and for long-term professional success in biomedical research careers, and 3) mentor the mentors by building a community of excellence for effective, rigorous, and culturally aware mentoring.