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2025-2026 Undergraduate Catalog
Chemical Industry, National, and Government Laboratory Post-Baccalaureate Bridge Program (ING-BP)
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Background:
The Industry, National, and Government Laboratory Post-Baccalaureate Bridge Program (ING-BP) is a credentialed bridge experience that provides intensive training and advanced internship opportunities for students interested in employment performing laboratory-based work in the chemical industry or national or government laboratories. The ING-BP is modeled after the American Chemical Society Bridge Program, which integrates data-driven practices into the program curriculum to provide new pathways to graduate programs in the chemical and/or biochemical sciences for all students. However, ≈60% of all chemistry BA/BS graduates seek employment in government or industrial laboratories. 1 Thus, the ING-BP is a first-of-its-kind program that integrates similar data-driven practices to launch students into their desired careers (See Notes). To foster student success, the ING-BP is tuition-free and offers a competitive salary, housing stipend, and health insurance for the full two years of the program. 2 The goal of this structure is to enable students the space to fully engage, relax into their STEM identity, focus, and thrive while getting high-quality, rigorous preparation for careers in the Chemical and/or Biochemical Sciences.
Advantages of this Program:
Hiring decisions in industry, national, and government laboratories rely heavily on a student’s upper-division electives, hands-on laboratory training on relevant instrumentation, and exposure and practice with specific technical writing tasks. Thus, the ING-BP focuses on providing depth and breadth of opportunity for students in each of these critical areas while providing students with real-world experience. The ING-BP curriculum provides unique training opportunities based on specific, ongoing feedback from hiring managers and professionals in local industry, government, and national laboratories. These training opportunities are accompanied by a three-tiered mentorship network for each student to ensure holistic, comprehensive support while discovering their desired employment path. Formal and informal networking and collaborative research interactions are also included to provide students with opportunities to interact with the broader scientific and more focused STEM communities.
Curriculum Specifics:
During the first year, each student completes undergraduate coursework relevant to their career trajectory, a technical writing course, employment support coursework, and laboratory rotations. Students gain invaluable experience and insight while preparing for the second phase of the program: the Immersive Laboratory Experience. The Immersive Laboratory Experience begins during the second half of their second semester when students transition to hands-on work with one of our partners in the chemical industry or a government or national laboratory for the remainder of the program. During this time, the students create and iteratively refine a poster and an oral presentation on their research project through scheduled presentations at MSU Denver and partnering institutions. The ING-BP culminates in a capstone project wherein students produce a variety of tailored resumes, engage in mock interviews, and develop a broad set of nuanced professional skills.3 This supportive, yet highly-customizable structure enables students to gain the tools, credentials, and experience necessary to achieve gainful employment in a competitive entry-level position in the student’s field of interest.
Notes:
- ACS Salary and Graduate Survey Highlights. https://www.acs.org/careers/salaries/surveys/salary-graduate-survey-highlights.html (accessed 2/1/2025)
- The merit criteria of this program include a comparative evaluation of the applicant’s likelihood for appropriately compensated employment in STEM with and without this opportunity.
- Students can simultaneously earn the Quality in the Chemical Industry Certificate while completing the ING-BP, see the Advanced Undergraduate Coursework Emphasis Tracks.
- The minimum passing grade for the curriculum in this program is a C-.
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ING-BP Program Requirements (19.5 - 23.5 Credits)
To complete the ING-BP certificate program, each student must complete 19.5 - 23.5 credit hours of coursework, depending on their Emphasis Track, as outlined in the categories below. The program timeline, curriculum categories, and Emphasis Track specifics are described in the following sections. | Program Credit Categories | Credit Hours/Course | Required Credits/Category | | T1 Mentorship Coursework | 0.5 | 3 | | Technical Employment Support Coursework | 0.5 | 4.5 | | a. JMP 2610 - Intro to Technical Writing | 3 | - | | b. ING-BP Capstone | 0.5 | - | | Laboratory Rotations | 0.5 | 0.5 | | Immersive Laboratory Experience: T3 Mentor | 0.5 - 1 | 3.5 | | Advanced Undergraduate Coursework* | 1- 4 | 8-12* | | Total Credits for the Program | 19.5 - 23.5 | *Advanced Undergraduate Coursework Requirements are determined based on the student’s chosen Emphasis Track. Transfer credits will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Year 1 - Semester 1 (7 - 12 credits)
During the first semester, students work closely with their Tier 1 and Tier 2 mentors to plan their course through the program, learn essential workforce skills, and take essential Advanced Undergraduate Coursework that prepares students for the next step in their careers. Year 1 - Semester 2 (2 - 11 credits)
During the second semester, the program ramps up as students continue working with their Tier 1 and Tier 2 mentors to define their desired career trajectories. Students select their Tier 3 laboratory mentors and complete their required Advanced Undergraduate Coursework and Technical Employment Support Coursework. Year 1 - Summer (1 credit)
The students start fully engaging in the Immersive Laboratory Experience portion of the program with their Tier 3 mentor during their first summer. The students continue to work with their Tier 1 mentor to ensure they are adequately supported at every stage of the program Year 2 - Semester 1 (1.5 credits)
The students continue the Immersive Laboratory Experience during their second academic year, working with their Tier 1 and Tier 3 mentors to hone their laboratory and science communication skills. Year 2 - Semester 2 (2 credits)
As students approach the end of the program, they take their ING-BP Capstone course to prepare them for entering the workforce. The capstone course is completed before their final summer in the program so they can apply the skills they’ve learned to real job applications while still receiving support through the program. Year 2 - Summer (1 credit)
Students work closely with their Tier 1 and Tier 3 mentors to get real-time feedback on job applications and interview skills while completing their final laboratory projects. Program Credit Categories
T1 Mentorship Coursework (3 credits)
Students must complete a total of 3 credits of coursework with their Tier 1 Mentor throughout their program. Both of these courses are repeated three times. Technical Employment Support Coursework with a T2 Mentor (4.5 credits)
Students must complete a total of 4.5 credits and associated non-credit coursework in Technical Employment Support Coursework with Tier 2 Mentorship. The ING-BP capstone course, CHE 4997 - ING-BP Capstone: Resume, Interviews, and Professionalism is taken during the second semester of the student’s second year. Laboratory Rotations (0.5 credits)
Students must complete a total of 0.5 credits of Research/Laboratory Rotations in the first 8 weeks of the second semester in the program. Immersive Laboratory Experience with a Tier 3 Mentor (3.5 credits)
Students must complete a total of 3.5 credits of Immersive Laboratory Experience coursework with their Tier 3 Mentor throughout their program. Advanced Undergraduate Coursework (8-12 credits)
Students must complete a total of 8-12 credits of Advanced Undergraduate Coursework during their first two semesters in the program. The following Emphasis Tracks are geared toward relevant career trajectories. Any courses at the 3000 level or higher listed in these Emphasis Tracks will satisfy the Advanced Undergraduate Coursework requirement, including Omnibus courses at the 390 level or higher. If students have already completed some of the required courses within an Emphasis Track, those credits can be substituted for the specified elective courses. Elective Course Sets listed below within a specific emphasis are suggestions that could deepen the student’s experience but are not required to complete that Emphasis Track. Note: The credit totals do not include all pre-requisite courses. Students are encouraged to discuss their potential coursework with their T1 mentor prior to registering for classes. Data Science Laboratory Emphasis (12 credits)
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