TwitterLarger Funded Research Initiatives
Collaborative Learning and Integrated Mentoring in the Biosciences
The Collaborative Learning and Integrated Mentoring in the Biosciences (CLIMB) program is a professional development and training program for graduate students in the life sciences. The program seeks to increase the productivity and professional savvy of participating students by providing customizable academic curricula, multi-layered mentoring, and professional development training.
The Searle Center is evaluating the CLIMB program by measuring the impact of the program on students' research self-efficacy, research skills, and career plans.
Collaborative Learning and Integrated Mentoring in the Biosciences
This study is an evaluation of the CLIMB program, an NIH-funded program aiming to increase the number of students from under-represented backgrounds who complete doctoral programs in the life sciences at Northwestern. CLIMB offers students an enhanced learning environment that includes peer mentoring, faculty–student mentoring, a scientific skills course, and study groups. CLIMB also includes workshops for faculty on alternative admission criteria for doctoral programs. The program evaluation has two components: (1) assessment of the impact of the CLIMB program on students, and (2) assessment of the impact of the program at an institutional level. The impact of the program on students will be evaluated by measuring their
• perception of the impact of the program on their research skills and progress in their doctoral programs
• progression through their doctoral programs
• satisfaction with the CLIMB program
• post-doctoral activities
• iImpact of the program at an institutional level will be evaluated by measuring
• faculty perceptions of the program
• the impact of the admission workshops
• changes made in the criteria used to admit students to doctoral programs in the life sciences at Northwestern University.
