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

该项目有助于国家需要受过良好教育的科学家，数学家，工程师和技术专家，通过支持高成就，低收入的学生在纽约州立大学Geneseo证明经济需要。该项目为期五年，将为大约30名攻读生物学、生物化学、生物物理学、生物数学、化学、地球化学、地质科学、地球物理学、数学、应用数学、神经科学、物理学或应用物理学学士学位的全日制学生提供奖学金。学者将被选为一年级学生，并将获得长达四年的奖学金。具体的项目活动包括新的第一年跨学科STEM探索研讨会，同行和教师指导，队列建设活动，研究经验，会议出席，校友互动和演讲机会。该项目将研究跨学科研讨会，指导计划和教师领导的研究经验对学者的保留，持久性和毕业率的影响。项目研究还将研究项目组件如何为STEM工作场所或研究生院准备学者。该项目产生的知识将为机构留住低收入STEM学生并使其毕业提供信息，并将与全国范围内为有经济需求的类似人才群体提供服务的机构分享。该项目的总体目标是提高两个队列（每个队列约15名学生）的STEM学位完成率。该项目的目标是（1）增加所有学者在主要研究的第一年和第二年之间的保留，（2）增加学者的四年毕业率，以及（3）增加所有学者的毕业后职业和研究生院的准备。跨学科研讨会的内容将通过对有效的第一年经验的研究来了解，并将旨在促进队列建设，STEM身份和学者参与跨学科问题解决。 该项目将调查的研究问题，“什么是参与跨学科的STEM探索性研讨会的学术成功，STEM身份，并保留在STEM专业的影响？“调查这个问题将有助于了解基于证据的方法，可以支持高成就，低收入STEM学生的保留和毕业。该项目将由一名独立的外部评估人员使用形成性和总结性方法进行评估，以研究实现项目目标的进展情况。成果将在联合国大学和纽约州立大学系统内传播，并通过会议介绍和出版物更广泛地传播，以便其他学院和大学可以学习和借鉴该项目的经验。该项目由NSF的科学，技术，工程和数学奖学金计划资助，该计划旨在增加低收入学术人才的数量，这些学生表现出经济需求，并获得STEM领域的学位。它还旨在改善未来STEM工作者的教育，并产生关于低收入学生的学术成功，保留，转移，毕业和学术/职业道路的知识。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力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 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.