Exploring STEM Career Pathway Persistence Among Student Service Members and Veterans: A Mixed Methods Study of Social Support Networks

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________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Student military service members and veterans, who are undergraduate students, face numerous medical, financial and social obstacles that universities and communities must address to prevent this skilled talent pool from leaving STEM before entering, or re-entering, our nation's workforce. For example, many service members and veterans have family or work responsibilities that limit full-time enrollment in post-secondary education. With the appropriate academic and social support systems, veterans and service members can succeed in college and advance their careers. It is critical for our nation to better understand the needs of this unique population and the social support networks that contribute to persistence in STEM. Advancing a diverse and technically competent STEM workforce is critical for contributing to the progress of science and the health, prosperity and welfare of our nation. The project team is exploring the association between social support networks and persistence in undergraduate STEM education among student military service members and veterans. More specifically, knowledge is being advanced about trajectories and social support characteristics of veterans and student military service members, as well as about the network variables associated with persistence along STEM academic and workforce pathways. This mixed methods research includes collecting and analyzing survey and interview data. Results are being examined to advance knowledge about why STEM undergraduate students, who are military service members or veterans, persist in STEM. Study findings will also provide university and college administrators and educators with information about how their institutions might better provide social, academic, health and career support services to advance the persistence and career paths of STEM veteran and military service members who are undergraduate students at their schools. This research is supported by NSF's EHR Core Research (ECR) program. The ECR program emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that generates foundational knowledge in the field. Investments are made in critical areas that are essential, broad and enduring: STEM learning and STEM learning environments, broadening participation in STEM, and STEM workforce development. The program supports the accumulation of robust evidence to inform efforts to understand, build theory to explain, and suggest intervention and innovations to address persistent challenges in STEM interest, education, learning and participation.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.