The Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) program, funded by the National Science Foundation, is a resource for underrepresented minority graduate students in science and social science fields. Its primary goals are:

• to increase significantly the number of underrepresented minorities obtaining doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines (STEM), and in the social, behavioral and economic sciences (SBE), and
• to enhance the preparation of underrepresented minorities for faculty positions in academia.

WSU’s AGEP develops programs that support these goals and strives to engage students in these activities. AGEP workshops have provided mentoring in areas such as successful dissertation and grant writing, getting published, CV preparation, the job search and the hiring process. Conferences have provided students opportunities for professional development and networking and for presenting their research orally and at poster sessions.

Wayne State’s AGEP program is housed in the Diversity Programs Office in the Graduate School. The Diversity Programs Office administers the Wayne State AGEP grants, develops and coordinates program activities with partner schools and on campus, and develops linkages with other diversity programs on campus.

AGEP Alliances

Wayne State’s AGEP program participates with other institutions in two Alliances. It is one of the graduate schools at four major research universities in Michigan that joined together and, focused on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, formed the Michigan AGEP Alliance:  University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Wayne State University, and Western Michigan University. In addition, Wayne State joined with University of Michigan, Michigan State University and City University of New York, focused on social, behavioral and economics sciences (SBE) fields, to form the CUNY/MAA Alliance. The Alliances cooperate to present workshops, conferences and programs furthering the recruiting, retention and mentoring goals of AGEP.

Who is eligible to participate in AGEP?

Domestic students working on doctoral degrees in sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, and in social, behavioral and economics (SBE) sciences, who are in population groups underrepresented in these fields (i.e., African Americans, Hispanics, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders).  However, while the major focus of the AGEP Program is to support graduate students from underrepresented groups, all students are welcome to participate in AGEP activities and events. Students in the WSU STEM and SBE programs listed below are eligible for AGEP activities.

STEM Fields Supported by AGEP

(Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics)

• Anatomy and Cell Biology
• Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
• Cancer Biology
• Communication Sciences and Disorders
• Biological Sciences
• Biomedical Engineering
• Chemical Engineering
• Chemistry
• Civil Engineering
• Computer Engineering
• Computer Science
• Electrical Engineering
• Immunology and Microbiology
• Industrial Engineering
• Materials Science and Engineering
• Mathematics
• Mechanical Engineering
• Medical Physics
• Molecular and Cellular Toxicology
• Molecular Biology and Genetics
• Nutrition and Food Science
• Pathology
• Pharmacology
• Physiology
• Physics and Astronomy
• Translational Neuroscience

SBE Fields Supported by AGEP

(Social, Behavioral and Economics Sciences)

• Anthropology
• Communication
• Economics
• Political Science
• Psychology
• Sociology

The NSF AGEP Program: nsfagep.org
The National AGEP: agep.us