FIT (faculty in training): cultivating women undergraduates for professional careers

The University of Puerto Rico at Humacao is a public undergraduate institution with approximately 4,300 students. We have established a program to encourage and guide talented women undergraduates as to pursue faculty jobs in science and technology. As part of the program the students participate in leadership workshops, seminars, undergraduate research and mentoring, and interact with role models from academia and industry. They are also supported in their transition to graduate school by providing language laboratories and training for GRE exams and graduate schools admissions protocol. We have now a three years longitudinal study. Three former participants are currently in graduate schools across the nation with the commitment to return, teach and do research at their Alma Matter. The program is part of an institutional effort to change the status of women in the science faculty supported by NSF ADVANCE and the University of Puerto Rico at Humacao.