Supporting Academically Talented STEM Undergraduates with Scholarships, Interdisciplinary Explorations, Mentoring, and Research Experiences

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This project contributes to the national need for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technology experts by supporting high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at the State University of New York at Geneseo. Over its five-year duration, this project will fund scholarships for an estimated 30 full-time students who are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in Biology, Biochemistry, Biophysics, Biomathematics, Chemistry, Geochemistry, Geological Sciences, Geophysics, Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Neuroscience, Physics, or Applied Physics. Scholars will be selected as first-year students and will receive scholarships for up to four years. Specific project activities include a new first-year Interdisciplinary STEM Exploratory Seminar, peer and faculty mentoring, cohort building activities, research experiences, conference attendance, alumni interactions, and presentation opportunities. The project will study the impact of the interdisciplinary seminar, mentoring programs, and faculty-led research experiences on the retention, persistence, and graduation rates of the Scholars. Project research will also study how project components prepare Scholars for the STEM workplace or graduate school. Knowledge generated by the project will inform institutional efforts to retain and graduate low-income STEM students and will be shared with institutions nationwide that serve a similar population of talented students with financial need.The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion for two cohorts of approximately 15 students each. The objectives of this project are to (1) increase retention between the first and second years of study within the major for all Scholars, (2) increase the four-year graduation rate for Scholars, and (3) increase the preparation of all Scholars for post-graduation careers and graduate school. The contents of the interdisciplinary seminar will be informed by research on effective first-year experiences and will be designed to foster cohort building, STEM identity, and Scholars' engagement in interdisciplinary problem solving. The project will investigate the research question, “What is the effect of participation in the Interdisciplinary STEM Exploratory Seminar on academic success, STEM identity, and retention in a STEM major?" Investigating this question will contribute knowledge about evidence-based approaches that can support retention and graduation for high achieving, low-income STEM students. The project will be evaluated by an independent external evaluator using both formative and summative methods to study progress toward accomplishing project objectives. Outcomes will be disseminated within the University and the State Universities of New York system, and more broadly through conference presentations and publications so that other colleges and universities might learn from and build on the project’s experiences. 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.