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Despite the vital role innovation plays in scientific advancement, opportunities to develop innovation skills remain limited, especially for low-income students. Training in innovation principles and processes are frequently extra-curricular pursuits, such as unpaid internships with start-up organizations, shadowing innovation professionals, or obtaining an additional business degree that covers innovation principles. These pursuits often require financial means or connections in the field – both of which are often unavailable to low-income students. Without an academic route in which STEM degree programs are embedded with innovation instruction and exercises, innovation training will remain out of reach for most low-income students. The bridge program engages students in a specially designed 3-credit hour course where 2-credit hours are dedicated to teaching students about innovation and developing their innovative thinking and behaviors. One-credit hour is devoted to student success strategies and developing feelings of being welcome at the university through guest speakers. Outside of class, bridge students participate in cohort building and mentoring activities. The bridge program included 12 NSF S-STEM students as well as 12 non-STEM students, all of which are participating in the Honors College Path Program which is designed to increase retention of underrepresented students. This allowed multidisciplinary collaboration for diversity of thought.