Scholarships for Undergraduates to Reach Goals in Education (SURGE)

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This scholarship project provides support for two ten-student cohorts who are pursuing baccalaureate degrees in mathematics. Each student receives a scholarship of up to $10,000/year for up to three years, depending on financial need. Since most of the institution's students transfer from two area community college systems and many students choose these community colleges for financial reasons, the project is focusing its recruiting effort mainly on attracting talented and financially needy students from these two community college systems. The intellectual merit of this project lies in a comprehensive academic support system that builds on an existing mathematics learning community, anchored by the local student chapter of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA). The centerpiece of the support component is the faculty/peer/external career mentoring that ensures weekly interactions between mentors and the S-STEM students. Additional special programs are available for interested S-STEM students, depending on their interest and schedule. These programs help strengthen each cohorts' sense of community and include conducting research, working in a university Mathematics Clinic, taking internships at local companies, attending conferences, and performing community service. The project's broader impacts are felt in its improvement of educational opportunities for mathematically talented and financially needy students in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, particularly for women and underrepresented minority students. In particular, the two community college systems from which students are drawn have a very high enrollment of women (over 50% for both systems) and minority students (53% and 37%, respectively). Moreover, since the support programs for this project are extendable to other students at the institution, and broad faculty participation and university support are present, the success of this specific project is catalyzing a broader departmental effort that benefits all mathematics majors and many other students.