Computing Scholarship Program

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This project establishes a four-year scholarship program at Villanova University that contributes to NSF's goals of increasing the number of college students pursuing CSEMS majors. Specifically, this project increases the number of students pursuing a computer science major, with special emphasis on recruiting and retaining underrepresented groups such as women and Hispanics. The program has the complementary goal of encouraging all groups of computer science graduates to consider careers at Pennsylvania and Philadelphia's wide selection of technology firms. This project integrates the significant academic and financial student support at Villanova that is available for juniors and seniors with NSF support and professional development seminars for freshmen and sophomores. This project's focus on the technical field of computer science will enhance Villanova's substantial commitment to recruiting female and Hispanic high school students for all majors. The project's intellectual merit lies in the integration of a new professional development seminar in the Department of Computing Sciences with the offering of eleven $3125 NSF-funded scholarships to first-year students each year of the program. In the initial year, eighteen additional scholarships will be offered to second and third year students. Both activities are designed to help students overcome academic or financial obstacles to remaining in and thriving in a computer science major. The broader impact of this project is founded in its outreach to underrepresented student populations and economic development in southeastern Pennsylvania. The project develops a culture that can attract, nurture and support underrepresented students. The project also has the broader impact of identifying and refining best practices in retaining students in CSEMS majors. The project shares these findings with other CSEMS departments at Villanova as well as disseminates these findings at national education conferences.