In 1991, John, Caroline, and Corey built the BSP from the ground up. Then Dean of Biology (now Emerita) MCB Professor Caroline Kane (left), Dr. John Matsui (right), and Dr. Corey Goodman (not pictured), the principal co-authors of the original BSP proposal, started outlining what would become The Biology Scholars Program.
Since 1992, the Biology Scholars Program (BSP) - a “high-touch” undergraduate diversity program - has successfully served over 3800 undergraduates from low-income, first-to-college, and minoritized ethnic backgrounds. BSP works side-by-side with its members to help them express their untapped potential and to create blueprints for their academic, professional, and personal success.
Over the past 30 years, BSP has re-written the story of who can succeed in science at Berkeley and beyond. Its members enter the University with SATs and high school GPAs significantly lower, on average, than biology-majors-at-large. In spite of this, BSP members graduate with biology degrees in the same percentages as their peers and with equivalent exit GPAs, making them competitively eligible for graduate school and subsequent STEM careers.