The Compass Project is a program that supports diversity in the physical sciences by bringing together undergraduate and graduate students through exceptional teaching and learning experiences.

For the undergraduates, the main focus of Compass is an intensive two-week summer program for incoming freshmen (with an emphasis on women and minorities), as well as continued mentorship and support throughout their college careers; for the graduate students, Compass provides a platform for discussing issues related to physics education and a unique opportunity to advance their teaching skills.

Compass has two main goals:

1. By cultivating undergraduate students’ interest in science and supporting them through their college years, Compass works to increase the health, diversity and competitiveness of the physical sciences at Berkeley.
2. Compass provides graduate students with a unique opportunity to transcend routine lecturing and develop a more sophisticated approach to teaching, an opportunity rarely possible in an environment where graduate student instructors operate under predefined curricula.

Compass achieves the first goal via a summer program, a mentoring program, and a research program: 

• The summer program: The cornerstone of the Compass Project is the summer program, an intensive, two-week educational experience that brings together 15 to 20 incoming freshmen and 6 to 8 graduate student instructors to study topics in physics, mathematics, and problem solving unified by a central physical question.
  As the first college-level educational experience for the Compass students, the Compass summer program serves as a stepping stone into UC Berkeley. By combining work and life activities, Compass gives students a head start in establishing the social ties, familiarity with the Berkeley campus, and balanced lifestyle necessary for successful undergraduate careers.
• The mentorship program: The relationships formed during the summer program extend far beyond its completion. Throughout the year, Compass students meet one-on-one with graduate student mentors to discuss whatever might be on their minds: classes, schedules, study habits, research opportunities, or just life in general. Many of the issues faced by undergraduates cause stress and frustration and can lead promising physical science majors to abandon the physical sciences entirely. Addressing these issues early will help the Compass students remain confident and achieve success in the physical sciences.
• The research program: Another important component of Compass is an undergraduate research program that exposes students to current research and helps them engage and participate in research themselves. The first step in this program is a new lecture series aimed at an undergraduate audience and given by faculty members. The lecture series introduces students to interesting research opportunities and encourages them to approach professors for participation in their research by creating an informal environment for interaction between students and faculty.

Furthermore, Compass is directly assisting students in finding research positions by developing relationships with faculty members, research scientists, and institutions that provide such opportunities.

The second goal of Compass is achieved by the experience for graduate students that takes place in the months leading up to the summer program, and consists of intense weekly discussions, teaching practice, and group work on every detail of the curriculum.

Compass opens the door to innovative teaching by putting graduate students in full control: they are solely responsible for designing a syllabus, exploring a variety of instructional methods, and taking on the responsibility of leading undergraduates as they construct their knowledge. By connecting novice teachers to their more experienced peers, participation in Compass leads graduate students to a deep understanding of the many facets of teaching, to insightful explanations for a multitude of topics, and perhaps most importantly, to innovation. The summer program is a vehicle that can take graduate students from being regular lecturers to fantastic teachers.

During the academic year, Compass continues to serve graduate students by maintaining a forum to discuss issues associated with teaching and by assisting Compass teachers in the development of their personal teaching philosophies and teaching portfolios. Additionally, the community of graduate students formed through Compass provides a source of friendship and support vital in taking on the challenges of a Ph.D. program at UC Berkeley.

Project page:http://compass.physics.berkeley.edu