The UHD Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program

University Of Houston - Downtown, Houston TX

Investigators

Abstract

The University of Houston-Downtown (UHD) Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program is providing 26 Undergraduate Science Majors, who are members of the UHD College of Science and Technology Scholars Academy (SA), a unique new career opportunity in Science Education. The SA was formed in 1999 to encourage and motivate more minorities, females and first generation college students to complete STEM degrees and pursue related careers or graduate degrees. The SA has been lauded at the state and national levels for its successes. UHD is an urban commuter institution that is recognized as both a Hispanic and Minority Serving Institution. The UHD Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program involves close cooperative efforts between the UHD Departments of Natural Science and Urban Education, Aldine Independent School District (a minority dominant urban district in Houston), the Harmony Academy of Science and HUNSTEM (the Houston Urban Network for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). A minimum of 26 SA science majors are becoming Noyce Scholars and are earning baccalaureate degrees in a STEM discipline in addition to satisfying Texas science teaching certification requirements. These 26 Noyce Scholars are accepting employment as a science teacher in a Houston area high-need school. The success of these Noyce scholarship recipients in their new careers will ultimately result in many more minority and financially needy students being motivated by their middle/high school science courses to pursue university degrees and careers that are science based.