Successful Pathways to Graduation in Chemistry & Biochemistry

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With funding from the National Science Foundation's Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (S-STEM) program, the "Successful Pathways to Graduation in Chemistry and Biochemistry" project is providing support to low-income students with demonstrated financial need and academic promise to succeed in STEM disciplines at the University of the Incarnate Word. The project is funding 15 scholarships lasting four years for students who are pursuing bachelor's degrees in chemistry or biochemistry. In addition to financial support, students will participate in a comprehensive support program called "Cardinal Chemistry Scholars (C2S)". The C2S program will provide key resources to students, including peer and faculty mentoring, a supportive community, research experience, and training to develop the hard and soft skills they will need to be successful in college and in their professional careers. Students will be recruited from both high school and community college. In addition to scholarship assistance, this program will provide students with evidence-based curricular and co-curricular experiences designed to increase academic success as well as workplace and graduate school readiness. Students will participate in development activities focused on improving academic performance and confidence, building professional aptitude and reasoning abilities, and learning about career and educational opportunities. Industry partners will deliver career seminars, provide site tours, and offer students internship and employment opportunities. A structured peer-mentoring program will provide students with valuable academic guidance, help with selecting courses, and a chance to pass on the benefits of the program to STEM students who are newer to college. Experienced faculty mentors will guide students through registration, help them overcome challenges, support personal and professional development, explore career options, and guides students through the graduate admission process. Participants will engage in research on-campus to build skills in critical thinking, problem solving, and workplace readiness. They will also be encouraged and supported to pursue research experiences at major universities. Faculty will study the conditions under which such curricular and co-curricular activities prove effective and contribute to this body of knowledge through presentations and scholarly publications.