S-STEM Collaborative Planning Grant: An accelerated 3+2 pathway to BS and MS degrees in Semiconductor Manufacturing and Quantum Science disciplines

这一合作规划项目的长期目标是通过支持特拉华大学（UD）和宾夕法尼亚西切斯特大学（WCU）表现出经济需求的高成就低收入学生的保留和毕业，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。具体而言，合作机构将进行密集的规划工作，为未来的Track 3 S-STEM提案做准备，该提案以追求半导体制造和量子科学职业相关学位的本科生和研究生为中心。这些都是美国未来经济竞争力的重要领域，这些领域对熟练劳动力的需求正在急剧增长。包括美国研究所（AIR）在内的这一规划项目的具体目标是：1)评估低收入目标学生群体的需求；2)设计一个满足这些需求的支持系统；3)调查监测这些支持有效性的方法，以便持续改进；4)开发支持未来学者群体的财务机制。该项目将建立一个“3+2”项目，支持低收入家庭学生在总共5年的时间里从西科罗拉多大学获得学士学位，从特拉华大学获得硕士学位。该计划的结构将大大减少获得研究生学位所需的时间和净成本，并将加速学生进入半导体制造和量子科学劳动力市场。这项协同规划工作建立在WCU目前的NSF S-STEM项目（奖励#2028230）的基础上，该项目支持18名本科生获得学士学位。WCU已经建立了一个招生网络，包括20所高中，服务于大费城地区主要是低收入家庭的不同学生。新开发的3+2项目将重点关注在WCU获得物理或化学学士学位的学生，并进入UD的四个硕士学位课程之一：a)量子科学与工程，b)材料科学与工程，c)电气与计算机工程，或d)半导体器件制造。计划期间开展的活动范围包括：1)调查高中生对职业道路的认识和兴趣；2)调查目前对WCU S-STEM学者的支持应该继续或调整，以便在未来的Track 3提交中实施；3)调查研究生招生委员会使用的因素，以减轻可能影响低收入申请人的偏见；4)制定基于设计的实施研究计划，研究和提高所有干预措施的有效性；5)开设新的半导体器件制造硕士学位课程；6)完成衔接协议；7)制定教师培训和准备协议。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，该项目旨在增加低收入、有学术天赋、有经济需求的学生在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。

The long term goal of this collaborative planning project is to 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 the University of Delaware (UD) and West Chester University of Pennsylvania (WCU). Specifically, the partnering institutions will conduct an intensive planning effort to prepare for a future Track 3 S-STEM proposal centered on undergraduate and graduate scholars pursuing degrees relevant to semiconductor manufacturing and quantum science careers. These are important fields for America’s future economic competitiveness and the demand for a skilled workforce in these areas is growing dramatically. The specific goals of this planning project, which includes the American Institute for Research (AIR), are to 1) assess the needs of the low-income target student population, 2) design a system of supports that will meet these needs, 3) investigate methods for monitoring the effectiveness of these supports so that continuous improvement can be made, and 4) develop the financial mechanisms to support future cohorts of scholars. The project will establish a 3+2 program that supports low-income students as they earn a BS from WCU and a Master’s degree from UD in a total of 5 years. The structure of the program will significantly reduce both the time and net cost required to earn a graduate degree and will accelerate students’ entry into the semiconductor manufacturing and quantum science workforce. This collaborative planning effort builds off WCU's current NSF S-STEM project (award #2028230), which is supporting 18 undergraduates in earning bachelor's degrees. WCU has developed a recruiting network including 20 high schools serving diverse, predominantly low-income students in the greater Philadelphia region. The newly developed 3+2 program will focus on students earning Physics or Chemistry bachelor's degrees from WCU and progressing into one of four master’s degree programs at UD: a) Quantum Science and Engineering, b) Materials Science and Engineering, c) Electrical and Computer Engineering, or d) Semiconductor Device Manufacturing. The scope of activities to be conducted during the planning period include: 1) investigating high school students' knowledge of and interest in career paths; 2) investigating which supports currently in place for WCU S-STEM scholars should be continued or adjusted for implementation in the future Track 3 submission; 3) investigating the factors used by graduate admission committees to mitigate any biases that might impact low-income applicants; 4) developing a design-based implementation research plan to study and improve the effectiveness of all interventions; 5) developing a new master’s degree program in Semiconductor Device Manufacturing; 6) completing articulation agreements; and 7) developing faculty training and preparation protocols. 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.