Enhancing Underrepresented Participation ​in Mathematics & Statistics: Mentoring From Junior to Master’s

University Of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst MA

Investigators

Abstract

This project will contribute to the national need for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at The University of Massachusetts Amherst. Over its 6-year duration, this project will fund scholarships to 30 unique full time students who are pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and a master’s degree in Statistics or Applied Mathematics in a single plus-one year. Third year undergraduate students will receive up to three years of scholarships. This project aims to increase recruitment into and persistence in Mathematics by combining financial support and comprehensive structured mentoring from faculty and peers in the form of regular meetings and aligned coursework. In addition to scholarships, students are provided summer research stipends as well as a tuition waiver and half-time teaching assistantship during the final year. A key focus of the project will be career preparation through collaborations with several industry partners. The project will contribute to our understanding of common barriers to success in the mathematical sciences for undergraduate students from underrepresented and historically excluded populations, both through research conducted by the project team and through extensive training for faculty through the Center for Minorities in the Mathematical Sciences. If implemented, the project will contribute to the development of a diverse, globally competitive STEM workforce by adding highly skilled graduates with bachelor’s degrees in Mathematics and master’s degrees in Applied Mathematics or Statistics. The project also has the potential to advance knowledge of best practices for increasing the number of low-income, underrepresented, and historically excluded recipients of bachelor’s degrees in Mathematics and master’s degrees in Applied Mathematics and Statistics. The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. Existing research across fields suggests that persistence and achievement in pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees is influenced by students’ self-efficacy, which refers to their belief in their own capabilities, their participation in goal setting activities, and their outcome expectations. However, little is known about how well this existing research applies to students in the mathematical sciences, especially those who are also from underrepresented and historically excluded populations. This project will investigate how self-efficacy is impacted by participation in the proposed activities, how goal setting impacts successful completion of a plus-one master’s program in Applied Mathematics or Statistics, and how outcome expectations vary and change throughout three years of participation in the proposed activities. Results of this project will be made available through peer-reviewed articles and through presentations at conferences. This project is funded by NSF’s 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 STEM workers, 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.