Collaborative Research: GP-IN: Accelerating Climate and Environmental Science Careers through a Postbaccalaureate Fellowship in Woods Hole (ACES Woods Hole)

Accelerating Climate and Environmental Science Careers (ACES) through a Post-baccalaureate Fellowship in Woods Hole is a three-year pilot project to recruit, train, prepare, and retain post-baccalaureate fellows from underrepresented backgrounds in geosciences and prepare them for graduate school and/or careers. The project’s goal is to create a scalable, collaborative learning ecosystem that contributes to diversifying the geosciences workforce.

Its objectives are centered on the ACES Woods Hole Learning Ecosystem Model that includes two functionally distinctive, but dynamically and reciprocally connected components, Transformative Activities and Infrastructure. The former includes a robust mentoring network, meaningful opportunity for community engagement, varied professional development activities, and an immersive research experience.

The latter includes intentional recruitment of participants, resources and facilities that reduce barriers to participation, and a supportive Woods Hole community. Together, the ecosystem offers opportunities for innovation and change to reduce structural barriers, create ongoing environments of support for fellows and ultimately broadening participation in the geosciences.

The significance of this award derives from a recognition of the paucity of postbaccalaureate programs in the geosciences, despite their success in other fields. As such ACES represents a novel project from which much can be learned through the cumulative and specific knowledge and insights generated. The ACES model builds on the knowledge-base and efforts of The Woods Hole Partnership Education Program (PEP) and PEP-II.

Through multiple iterations of these programs, the participating institutions have refined the components to become most effective, contributing to the understanding of how best to support underrepresented students in the geosciences. An evaluation of the cumulation of knowledge and experiences about different, but interrelated, programmatic interventions will offer a unique understanding of the need for postbaccalaureate opportunities and the importance of filling the “gap” between undergraduate and graduate school or the workforce.

Further, the project will generate specific understanding about how the learning ecosystem model works independently and collaboratively to contribute to the observed outcomes. The knowledge gained from ACES will greatly contribute to the understanding of postbaccalaureate programs in the geosciences and provide a model for what is required to design and manage a successful intervention.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.