Mentored Access to Success in Undergraduate Science and Engineering Programs

Saint Mary'S College Of California, Moraga CA

Investigators

Abstract

This project aims to contribute to the national need for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians. The project will provide four-year scholarships to twenty-four low-income, high-achieving STEM undergraduate students with demonstrated financial need at Saint Mary's College of California, a Hispanic-Serving Institution. The Scholars will pursue bachelor's degrees in biochemistry, chemistry, biology, mathematics, or physics. In the summer prior to their first semester in college, the Scholars will participate in a summer research program. In addition, the Scholars will live in the Science Living Learning Community, participate in a first-year advising cohort, and have access to a peer mentor. Tutoring services will be available in the STEM Center, which is located in the same building as the Science Living Learning Community. As they progress through their collegiate careers, the Scholars will have opportunities to take part in additional summer research programs and to receive funding to present their research at scientific conferences. As seniors, the Scholars will participate in the science career-readiness program developed through a previous NSF award. Because the College has a high population of underrepresented students, this project has the potential to broaden participation in STEM fields. The project's specific goals include: a) providing supports that will enable the Scholar's to graduate with STEM degrees within four years of matriculation and enter the workforce in skilled STEM positions or enroll in graduate/professional school in STEM fields; b) creating a three-week pre-enrollment summer immersion research program and examine its efficacy; and c) evaluating the project and disseminating the results to the scientific community. The project's research component emphasizes analysis of the impact of the pre-matriculation summer research experiences on the Scholar's math placement and subsequent retention, the effects of a holistic support program in the context of a liberal arts and sciences-based curriculum, and the effectiveness of the project's curricular and co-curricular activities in the context of a Hispanic-Serving Institution that is also a private college. Because of the status of the College as a Hispanic-Serving Institution and the demographics of California, this project has the potential to further expand and diversify the STEM workforce, particularly in the technology-centered San Francisco Bay Area. This project is funded by the NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics program, which seeks to increase the number of low-income academically talented students with demonstrated financial need who earn degrees in STEM fields. It also aims to improve the education of future scientists, engineers, and technicians, and to generate knowledge about academic success, retention, transfer, graduation, and academic/career pathways of low-income students. 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.