MARC U-STAR PROGRAM AT WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS

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Abstract: Through the parent MARC U-STAR grant and its affiliated programs and activities, we have built a strong pathway for UR students to succeed in research and STEM classes at Washington University (WashU) and to pursue their research interests upon college graduation in graduate school and MD-PhD programs. There is however one key gap in our training in this pathway – sophomore year. Currently, we lack any structured, research-based programming for UR students during the sophomore year. It is critical to fill this gap, as sophomore year is a pivotal time in the academic career of college students: Most of them choose their academic major at the end of the sophomore year. And, once students choose a major, almost all students retain that major through graduation, as student retention in a declared science major exceeds 95% for both UR and well-represented (WR) students at WashU. Despite this success, we observe that two-fold as many UR students versus WR students migrate away from their intended STEM major during the first two years of college. Our gap in research-focused programming for UR students then aligns with the timing of when the vast majority of UR students leave their expected science major. The goal of this proposal is to fill this gap in training through creation of the Next Generation Science Scholars Program – a sophomore year cohort- and research-based program – in order to retain an ever-increasing number of UR students in intended STEM majors and drive their success in research, college, and beyond.