The APS Bridge Program is an effort to increase the number of physics doctoral degrees awarded to underrepresented minority (URM) students, including Black, Latinx, and Indigenous students, to match the fraction of physics bachelor's degrees granted to these groups. Since 2013, nearly 300 students have been placed in bridge programs leading to a doctoral program or placed directly in a doctoral program. Successful bridge programs share key components and exist within a supportive institutional context. These contextual and programmatic components build on one another to provide students with a complete educational experience, from admissions and induction to research and mentoring. The APS Bridge Program has partnered with over 40 graduate programs to place students who did not get accepted through the traditional graduate admissions process. Program retention rates are high (77% across all cohorts) and several students have earned a physics Ph.D.