Promoting STEM Degrees and Careers through a Natural Science Scholar Program

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This S-STEM project provides 16 scholarships per year to upper-level STEM majors at the University of Houston, Clear Lake. UHCL students enter as juniors, and the STEM programs are well designed to serve community college transfer students. The scholarships are being made available to academically talented, low-income undergraduate students pursuing degrees in Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Sciences, and Physics. STEM studies at UHCL provide a natural pipeline for low-income and underrepresented students to enter science-related careers. This S-STEM project not only complements a prior S-STEM project for computing and mathematics majors but also builds upon lessons learned from the prior project. Intellectual merit of the project is realized by features that include recruitment activities, faculty involvement in several capacities, peer and career mentoring, a Natural Science Scholar Organization, opportunities for research experiences, an emphasis on developing communication skills, career exposure via partnerships with local high technology laboratories and industries, and a well-defined set of metrics to evaluate and improve project effectiveness.Broader impacts are realized by educating and diversifying a workforce prepared for STEM jobs. Broader impacts will also result from scholars presenting results of their experiences at community colleges, local conferences, and national meetings of professional science organizations. Plans exist to present project outcomes at meetings of professional STEM societies and in journals as well as reports to the public via the project website.