Scholarships to Promote Retention and Graduation Rates in STEM Disciplines

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The STEM scholarship project is designed to increase the number of students from underrepresented groups with Bachelor's degrees and well-qualified to participate in the nation's workforce or to continue their education in graduate school. To achieve the goal, 10 students per semester are being awarded scholarships each year, scholarships that are directly offsetting the financial need that derails many such aspirants at this institution. The focus of the project is on retention, and as such, is using, in broad terms, the integration of research and education as the core guiding principle.To ensure scholars success, the project is engaging them in cutting edge education opportunities and is encouraging them to participate significantly in undergraduate research, both on campus during the academic year, and off-campus during summers. The scholars are receiving educational and research support through faculty and peer involvement as well as career counseling and advising. Academic support programs such as supplemental instruction and early warning signal monitoring are being used to ensure scholar success. Integration of the scholars with complementary, existing programs such as participation in the Annual Research and Creative Activity Symposium is being used to contribute to the growth of the students. Opportunities for travel to professional conferences are considered as additional motivation for the scholars.The project is focusing on recruiting students from underrepresented groups, including the 92% of ASU's student population that is African American, desiring to major in molecular biology, immunology, nanobiotechnology, chemistry, physics, polymer science, computational science, or mathematics.