The Math and Science, Technology, Engineering Reinforcement (MASTER) Scholar Program

Northwest College, Powell WY

Investigators

Abstract

The Math and Science, Technology, Engineering Reinforcement (MASTER) Scholar Program is providing twenty scholarships per year to students with strong academic ability and financial need to study a variety of STEM disciplines including Agroecology, Biology, Chemistry, Drafting Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural Resource Biology, and Physics. The project's intellectual merit rests on an experienced faculty and staff with access to institutional and community resources that are dedicated to increasing student engagement and supporting student transition into four-year programs and/or the workforce. Specific project activities include faculty mentoring; a special one-credit course for all scholars on professional skills, time and stress management, career orientation, and introduction to internship opportunities; and career placement and transfer services. The project's broader impacts are being felt through its provision of opportunity to students in a rural region in the Rocky Mountain West. The project also sees importance in the peer influence of its scholars on other prospective STEM students and the potential for the overall project to serve as a model for similar small rural institutions.