Howard University Science, Engineering and Mathematics (HUSEM) Program

Howard University, Washington DC

Investigators

Abstract

Howard University is committed to establishing an infrastructure that coordinates STEM education campus-wide with a focus on producing graduates of excellent quality who can assume leadership roles in the engineering and scientific community. Through the NSF Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP), Howard will form a coordinated, cohesive community of STEM scholars, thereby increasing STEM enrollment at all levels with a special emphasis on students of exceptional quality. Howard University will provide all STEM students with access to a number of coordinated, multidisciplinary activities that will expose the student to the culture, traditions and rewards of scientific and engineering careers through a program called Howard University Science, Engineering and Mathematics Program (HUSEM). The ultimate goal is to retain these students in STEM disciplines, to have them graduate and to adequately prepare them to pursue advanced degrees (particularly the Ph.D.) in STEM fields. All STEM students will have access to HUSEM activities; however, some activities are particularly designed for the high-ability student who will be groomed for direct entry to a Ph. D. program. The proposed initiative will consist of four activities - the Distinguished Scholars Program; the Undergraduate Research Program; the Resource Retention Center; and the Interdisciplinary New Frontiers in Science and Engineering Modular Course. These programs will be integrated to accomplish the goals. Intellectual Merit: The activities will increase the production of underrepresented graduates who have a stronger fundamental understanding of mathematics and science, an improved level of undergraduate preparation and the ability to seek new knowledge through research. The objectives of the program and activities are all aimed at addressing these intellectual challenges. Broader Impacts: The activities will create a STEM culture, which produces students motivated to pursue advanced degrees in STEM and careers in the professoriate. This culture will produce scientists and engineers who have an appreciation for lifelong learning, leadership skills and the ability to work in multicultural, interdisciplinary teams. As a national leader in the on-campus production of African American Ph.D.s in STEM fields and the production of Black undergraduates who go on to earn Ph.D.s in STEM, Howard is uniquely capable of creating these broader impacts.