Scholarships, Academic, and Co-curricular Supports to Increase Access to Graduate Degrees and Careers in Engineering

该项目将通过支持有经济需求的高成就、低收入STEM学生的保留和毕业，为满足国家对受过良好教育的科学家、数学家、工程师和技术人员的需求做出贡献。该项目将在五年内为30名攻读匹兹堡大学斯旺森工程学院理学硕士学位的学生提供两年的奖学金。这些学位涵盖十个工程专业：化学、石油、生物工程、土木、环境、电气、计算机、工业、材料科学和机械工程。除了奖学金外，该项目还将为学生提供学术和课外支持，帮助他们获得在工作和创业中取得成功所需的知识和技能。该项目旨在增加低收入家庭学生获得工程硕士学位的人数，并为学生提供获得行业认可证书的机会。该项目将促进对消除阻碍低收入学生在获得理学学士学位后转入研究生院的障碍的策略的理解。该项目的总体目标是提高STEM领域低收入、高成就本科生的研究生学位完成率。该项目的具体目标是：1)通过奖学金创造获得理学硕士学位的机会；2)通过课程改进、指导和行业实习等活动，为进入职业生涯搭建桥梁。实现这些目标的策略包括培养学生进行研究和参与创新的能力，通过教师组织的学徒制指导学生，以及提供以研究生为中心的社区活动。评估和评价计划将使用直接措施（例如行为观察、政策变化）和间接措施（例如调查）来评价项目在提供机会/奖学金、提高在研究生院的成绩和建立通往职业生涯的成功桥梁方面的成功情况。该项目还将解决一些关键的研究问题，包括奖学金激励是否会增加工程研究生项目中有经济需求的低收入学术天才学生的入学率，以及减少或消除经济障碍是否会增加低收入学生攻读高级学位的兴趣和动力。混合方法研究方法将包括对参与者访谈和调查的信息进行定性分析。该项目的结果将通过简短的通讯、通讯、小册子、同行评议的期刊出版物以及在诸如美国工程教育工作者协会会议等会议上的演讲来传播。该项目由美国国家科学基金会的科学、技术、工程和数学奖学金项目资助，旨在增加有经济需求的低收入学术天才学生在STEM领域获得学位的人数。它还旨在改善未来STEM工作者的教育，并为低收入学生提供有关学业成功、留校、转学、毕业和学术/职业道路的知识。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project will contribute to the national need for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income STEM students with demonstrated financial need. Over five years, the project will provide two-year scholarships to 30 students to pursue Master of Science degrees from the University of Pittsburgh's Swanson School of Engineering. These degrees span ten engineering programs: Chemical, Petroleum, Bioengineering, Civil, Environmental, Electrical, Computer, Industrial, Materials Science, and Mechanical Engineering. In addition to scholarships, this project will provide students with academic and co-curricular supports to help them gain the knowledge and skills needed for success in the workforce and in entrepreneurial pursuits. The project aims to increase the number of low-income students who graduate with a master's degree in engineering, as well as provide the students with opportunities to earn industry-recognized credentials. The project will advance understanding of strategies for eliminating barriers that interfere with the ability of low-income students to transition to graduate school after they earn a Bachelor of Science degree. The overall goal of this project is to increase graduate degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates in STEM fields. The specific aims of the project are to 1) create access to Master of Science degrees through scholarships and 2) create bridges into professional careers through activities such as curricular improvements, mentoring, and industry internships. Strategies to accomplish these aims include building capacity for students to do research and be involved in innovation, mentoring students through faculty-structured apprenticeships, and providing graduate student-centered community activities. The assessment and evaluation plan will use both direct (e.g., behavioral observations; policy changes) and indirect measures (e.g., surveys) to evaluate the project's success in providing access/scholarships, increasing success in graduate school, and developing successful bridges to professional careers. The project will also address key research questions, including whether scholarship incentives increase the enrollment of low-income academically talented students with demonstrated financial need in engineering graduate programs and whether reduction or elimination of financial barriers increase the interest and motivation of low-income students to pursue advance degrees. A mixed-methods research approach will include a qualitative analysis of information from participant interviews and surveys. Results of this project will be disseminated through short communications, newsletters, brochures, peer-reviewed journal publications, and presentations at conferences such as the American Society of Engineering Educators Conference. This project is funded by NSF's Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics program, which seeks to increase the number of low-income academically talented students with demonstrated financial need who earn degrees in STEM fields. It also aims to improve the education of future STEM workers, and to generate knowledge about academic success, retention, transfer, graduation, and academic/career pathways of low-income students.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.