Louis Stokes STEM Pathways and Research Alliance: Greater Philadelphia Region LSAMP (Philadelphia AMP)

Drexel University, Philadelphia PA

Investigators

Abstract

The Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program assists universities and colleges in diversifying the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce through their efforts at significantly increasing the numbers of students from historically underrepresented minority populations (African-Americans, Hispanic Americans, American Indians or Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islanders) to successfully complete high quality degree programs in STEM. In accordance with the LSAMP mission, the Greater Philadelphia Region Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (Philadelphia AMP) will continue to execute its STEM Pathways and Research Alliance (SPRA) activity by including a new and innovative research on student identity and exploration of STEM careers. The Philadelphia AMP consists of nine diverse institutions that collaborate to realize a common mission of broadening participation in STEM. The Alliance will utilize its operational infrastructure to increase the capacity of its partner institutions to recruit, retain and graduate more underrepresented minority STEM students (by substantially expanding their capabilities to attract, develop and support STEM student talent). Specifically, Philadelphia AMP proposes to accomplish the following programmatic objectives: a) increase student engagement, retention, and progression to STEM baccalaureate degrees for underrepresented racial and ethnic groups; b) increase intra-and inter -institutional partnerships and collaborations, including community college connectivity enabling the successful transfer of underrepresented students from 2-year to 4-year institutions in STEM programs, as well as partnerships / collaborations with other NSF and/or other federally-funded programs; c) increase student access to high quality STEM mentoring, and national and international undergraduate research experiences; d) facilitate seamless transition of underrepresented students into STEM graduate programs; e) Enhance documentation of student accomplishments and movement to graduate study and /or industry; and f) stimulate, document, publish, and disseminate new research and learning on broadening participation in STEM disciplines as it relates to operationalizing and examining student learning as an integrated process of exploring and taking steps to attain STEM career identities over time. 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.