Transfer to Interdisciplinary Natural and Mathematical Sciences (TraIN) 2.0

该项目将通过支持亚利桑那州立大学新跨学科艺术与科学学院中表现出经济需求的高成就、低收入家庭学生的保留和毕业，为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。亚利桑那州立大学提供了很大一部分符合佩尔资格的非传统学生和转学生。该计划为期5年，将资助45名攻读跨学科自然科学和数学科学专业学士学位的全日制学生，这些专业包括生物学、法医学、环境科学、药理学/毒理学、生物技术、统计学、应用数学和应用计算机。来自合作社区学院和预科学院的转学生将获得最多3年的奖学金。该项目旨在支持具有巨大潜力但机会较少的学生在亚利桑那州和美国各地的高需求STEM领域接受大学教育。学生将通过与教师导师、同行、原奖学金项目校友、同行导师、提供“软技能”研讨会的专业人士以及通过在研究实验室实习的行业导师的关系，保留并支持他们的本科学位课程。作为一所拥有低收入和非传统转学生的多元化机构，该项目有可能扩大美国西南部及其他地区STEM劳动力的参与。此外，它将继续发展一个学者网络，以支持未来的毕业生进入STEM劳动力市场。该项目的总体目标是提高有经济需求的低收入、高成就本科生的STEM学位完成率。该提案建立在当前项目的基础上，该项目在凤凰城大都会区创建了一个在三所西班牙裔社区学院和亚利桑那州立大学跨学科艺术与科学新学院之间的转学联盟。这个新项目将范围扩大到凤凰城市区的其他社区大学和高中合作伙伴。该项目将为亚利桑那州立大学的45位独特的学者提供长达三年的奖学金，每年高达10,000美元，因为他们正在努力获得STEM学位。此外，该项目将消除学生参与研究和实习的障碍，提高STEM劳动力的准备程度。该奖学金项目计划研究在低收入、多样化和主要是非传统的转学人口中实施研究和/或实习的有效性。项目研究结果应有助于理解，与同伴和教师导师进行不太正式的实习经历如何增强学生寻求和参与长期研究/实习经历的信心。此外，该项目旨在研究从事长期研究和实习经历的学生是否比同龄人更有可能在毕业后进入STEM劳动力或研究生院。该项目希望通过从凤凰城高需求的就业市场中增加新的专业人员，并将这些毕业生返回，来培养STEM人才。这些新毕业的专业人士将通过见习和实习经历与跨学科领域的其他STEM专业人士保持高度联系，使他们成为STEM未来有影响力的创新者，并成为追随他们脚步的STEM学生的导师。项目工作人员将通过举办研讨会、在AZ Transfer峰会和各种国内和国际会议等活动上发表演讲，以及通过出版物向其他学院和大学传播最佳实践。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 students with demonstrated financial need at Arizona State University’s New College of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences. Arizona State University serves a large proportion of Pell eligible, non-traditional and transfer students. Over its 5-year duration, this project will fund scholarships for 45 unique full-time students who are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in interdisciplinary natural and mathematical science majors including biology, forensic science, environmental science, pharmacology/toxicology, biotechnology, statistics, applied mathematics, and applied computing. Transfer students from partner community colleges and preparatory academies will receive scholarships for up to 3 years. This project aims to support students with great potential but fewer opportunities to achieve a college education in high-demand STEM fields within Arizona and across the United States. Students will be retained and supported in their undergraduate degree programs through relationships with faculty mentors, their peer cohort, alumni from the original scholarship project, peer mentors, professionals who will offer “soft skill” workshops, and industry mentors through shadowing in a research laboratory. As an institution with a diverse population of low-income and non-traditional transfer students, this project has the potential to broaden participation within the STEM workforce in the southwestern U.S. and beyond. Furthermore, it will continue to develop a network of scholars who will support future graduating scholars as they enter the STEM workforce.The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. This proposal builds on a current project that created a transfer consortium in the Phoenix metropolitan area between three Hispanic-Serving community colleges and the New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Science at Arizona State University. This new project expands the reach to additional community college and high school partners in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The project will support 45 unique scholars at Arizona State University for up to three years with scholarships of up to $10,000/year, as they work toward a STEM degree. Additionally, the project will remove barriers to student participation in research and internships that improve STEM workforce readiness. This scholarship project plans to study the effectiveness of implementing research and/or internship shadowing with a low-income, diverse and primarily non-traditional transfer population. Project findings should advance the understanding of how less formal shadowing experiences with peer and faculty mentors increase student confidence about seeking out and engaging with longer-term research/internship experiences. Furthermore, the project intends to examine whether students who engage in longer-term research and internship experiences are more likely than their peer group to enter the STEM workforce or graduate school after graduation. This project hopes to build STEM talent by adding new professionals from, and returning these graduates to, the high-need Phoenix job market. These newly minted professionals will be highly connected with other STEM professionals in interdisciplinary fields through shadowing and internship experiences, allowing them to be influential innovators for the future of STEM, and mentors to STEM students who follow in their footsteps. Project staff will disseminate best practices to other colleges and universities by hosting a workshop, presenting at events such as the AZ Transfer Summit and various national and international meetings, and through publications. 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.