Targeted Interventions for Enhanced Retention of Chemistry Graduate Students

University Of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh PA

Investigators

Abstract

This NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) project will increase the number of students who complete a Ph.D. in chemistry and contribute to the vital national chemistry enterprise. The project has four objectives (a) increase the retention rate of graduate students who most commonly encounter barriers in their first year, (b) use carefully targeted interventions to reduce the average time-to-degreee, (c) increase the number of graduate students in the department from groups that are underrepresented in Chemistry, and (d) improve the overall graduate experience by adding coherence and breadth to skills development, reducing teaching workloads, and supporting students seeking non-research careers upon Ph.D. completion. The immediate outcome of the project will be the awarding scholarships to at least 52 graduate students. The long-term outcome will be more, better prepared, advance-degreed professionals for the workforce. The project goals are aligned with challenges to the chemistry graduate program that were identified in a self-assessment. Thus, the three new student support mechanisms (Professional Develop Workshops, Proposal Writing Course, and Near Peer Mentoring) were chosen carefully to focus on key attrition points, all predominant in the first year of study. The topics covered in the workshops will help the students to develop their identities as professional scientist, while the writing course will help them to develop their abilities to design a viable research plan. Grounded in the literature, these strategies will both provide the S-STEM students with strong academic support and further inform the research on recruitment and retention of graduate students in the sciences. Moreover, all of the project components are examples of sustainable, transferrable tools for training graduate students. The Evaluation Plan includes validated, baseline and follow-up surveys meant to assess the development of participants' self-efficacy (research and academic) and STEM Identities. The individual support structures will also be evaluated using qualitative, focus group discussions. Both mechanisms should result in rich information regarding the attitudes, motivation, and beliefs of budding graduate students. The qualitative assessments, which will be expanded to a group of students who have not been exposed to the student supports for comparison, should build on current research related to challenges to persistence in graduate school. Results will be disseminated to the university, national chemistry, and broader STEM communities through a variety of mechanisms including PittCon meetings, annual American Chemical Society meetings, and the Journal of Chemical Education.