# Facilitating seamless transitions from community college to Towson University

> **NIH NIH R25** · TOWSON UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $278,107

## Abstract

Summary
A talented and diverse biomedical workforce is essential to ensure creativity and innovation in
the biomedical field. The goal of this project is to promote growth and maintenance of a diverse
biomedical workforce by increasing the number of underrepresented minority (URM) students
who pursue biomedical careers. While URM students are as likely as others to begin college as
STEM majors, they are less likely to graduate with a STEM degree. The attrition of students
from STEM majors is acutely seen in students who begin college at two-year institutions (many
of whom are URM students) than at four-year institutions. Consistent with these trends, 48% of
Towson University (TU) natural science majors enrolled in introductory chemistry were found to
have completed a bachelor’s degree in the natural sciences within 5 years; this percentage
dropped to 41% for transfer students. This project targets the transition of URM students from
Baltimore City Community College (BCCC) and the Community College of Baltimore County
(CCBC) to facilitate baccalaureate degree completion in the biomedical sciences at TU or other
four-year institutions and to increase student competitiveness for graduate education and/or
biomedical research careers. This renewal proposal builds on past success and implements new
strategies to empower and motivate participating students. We aim to enhance recruitment efforts
to increase program awareness and the pool of qualified applicants attracted to the program, to
provide a dynamic and supportive environment for students to increase the transfer rate of
students from our community college partners to TU and other four-year institutions, to provide
students with the skills and capacity required for success at TU and in post-graduate training and
careers, and to integrate the program with the robust pipeline of active URM training programs at
TU, BCCC, CCBC and affiliated University System of Maryland schools to provide a strong
minority-focused training experience. These goals will be achieved by integrating an
independent research experience with strong mentoring and courses for research and professional
skills development along with fostering the development of research-based curriculum at the
community college partners. Building on previous success, the new initiatives proposed here
include strengthening research opportunities at the community college partners to better prepare
students for the research experience at TU by fostering the development of course-based
undergraduate research experience (CURE) modules at the community college partners, and
strengthening the integration of the Bridges to the Baccalaureate program with other minority-
focused programs at partner institutions and within the University System of Maryland.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9942428
- **Project number:** 5R25GM058264-17
- **Recipient organization:** TOWSON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Kathleen A Berlyn
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $278,107
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2003-09-01 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9942428

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9942428, Facilitating seamless transitions from community college to Towson University (5R25GM058264-17). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9942428. Licensed CC0.

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