Transforming STEM in Northeastern Pennsylvania

University Of Scranton, Scranton PA

Investigators

Abstract

With five years of funding from the NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) program, the University of Scranton will provide scholarships to 25 students who have demonstrated financial need and academic achievement. The scholarships will support students who are pursuing bachelor's degrees in the STEM disciplines of biology, chemistry, computing science, mathematics, and physics/electrical engineering. Key features of this program include common seminar courses for the scholarship students to help them develop an identity as a member of the STEM community, outreach activities with local schools, and an independent research experience supervised by faculty trained in mentoring. The goal of this project is to recruit, retain, and graduate 25 low-income students in STEM disciplines. The project will provide scholarships that will offset the expected family contributions to their education. The program will focus on developing students' STEM self-efficacy through 1) shared seminar courses, 2) mentoring based on research-backed multi-mentor models, 3) training in problem-solving tactics, 4) undergraduate research experience, and 5) structured cohort-building activities in and out of the classroom. Measures of outcomes including retention and placement after graduation will serve as indicators of project effectiveness. Measures of the quality of faculty and peer mentoring and the effect of multiple mentors on student success will contribute knowledge relevant to development of other programs aim on improving the participation of low-income students in STEM. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.