Scholarships for Advancing Careers in the Life Sciences

该项目将为佐治亚州立大学生物、化学或神经科学专业的低收入学生提供奖学金支持。资助高师本科生60人，硕士研究生18人。一半的本科生将从佐治亚州立大学的在校生中挑选出来，其余的学生将从佐治亚州立大学内的两年制院校周长学院的转学学生中招募。该计划的重点是为学生进入研究生院或STEM劳动力做好准备。该计划的一个独特之处是，旨在支持本科以上学历的学生进入第五年硕士课程；完成硕士学位已被证明大大提高了劳动力的收入潜力。该计划将提供一套全面的活动和机会，以发展学术和研究技能，目标是提高学生的自我效能。学生将参与群体建设活动，例如为他们专门进行单独的指导，以及在群体内进行基于文本的交流。他们还将参与教师指导、通过创建个人发展计划进行职业规划、增加研究机会、研讨会课程和研讨会，以及促进行业联系。除了该项目，佐治亚州立大学还提供其他服务，包括就业服务、财务咨询和学术建议，以确保学生在校园内和毕业后取得成功。学生将被评估参与和完成计划活动，以及在计划内和毕业后的学业成就和进步。该项目的目标是：1)留住和毕业生命科学专业的高年级本科生和硕士研究生；2)培养在工作场所或研究生院具有竞争力的基本技能；3)通过有系统的教师指导和同行参与建立社区意识；4)研究和报告所实施的支助结构对学生自我效能、毕业率和保留率的影响；以及5)加强留住和毕业有才华的低收入学生的体制做法。S-STEM项目建立在佐治亚州立大学校园现有的四个支持结构和专门为该项目开发的六个支持结构的基础上。这些支持结构包括队列建设、教师指导、职业规划、强化研究、研讨会课程和研讨会，以及行业联系。这些支持要素旨在培养项目学生的六项有针对性的技能-元认知技能、数据分析、解决问题、技术/实验室技能、演示技能和科学写作。这些支持结构和学生增强的技能组合被认为是为了提高他们的自我效能感和最终在STEM职业生涯中的持久性。项目设计和研究性研究将在社会认知职业理论(SCCT)的指导下进行，该理论预测支持结构、自我效能、职业结果预期和目标等变量如何影响学生的职业选择。这项计划将使用混合方法来研究拟议的支持结构如何影响这些SCCT变量、毕业和在STEM相关职业中的坚持性。鉴于佐治亚州立大学的多样性和独特的人口结构，这项研究将促进人们对某些支持如何影响低收入学生、代表性不足的少数族裔和第一代学生的职业选择的了解。

This project will provide scholarship support for academically talented, low-income students majoring in Biology, Chemistry or Neuroscience at Georgia State University. 60 upper-division undergraduate students and 18 Masters students will be supported. Half of the undergraduate students will be drawn from enrolled students at Georgia State, with the remainder of the students recruited from transfer students from Perimeter College, a 2-year institution within Georgia State University. The focus of the program is to prepare students to enter graduate school or the STEM workforce. One unique feature of the program is the intent to support students beyond their undergraduate education into a 5th year Masters; completion of a Masters degree has been shown to substantially increase earning potential in the workforce. The program will provide a comprehensive set of activities and opportunities for development of academic and research skills, with the goal of increasing student self-efficacy. Students will engage in cohort-building activities such as a separate orientation specifically for them and text-based communication within the cohort. They will also participate in faculty mentoring, career planning through creation of Individual Development Plans, enhanced research opportunities, seminar courses and workshops, and facilitation of industry connections. Outside of the program, Georgia State provides additional services including career services, financial counseling, and academic advising to ensure student success on campus and after graduation. Students will be assessed for participation and completion of program activities, as well as for academic achievement and progress both within the program and following graduation. The objectives of the project are to: 1) retain and graduate upper-division undergraduates and Masters scholars in the Life Sciences, 2) develop the essential skills to be competitive in the workplace or graduate school, 3) build a sense of community through structured faculty mentorship and peer engagement, 4) study and report the impact of the implemented support structures on student self-efficacy, graduation and retention rates, and 5) strengthen institutional practices for the retention and graduation of talented, low-income students. This S-STEM program builds on four support structures currently available on the Georgia State University campus and six support structures developed specifically for this program. These support structures include cohort building, faculty mentoring, career planning, enhanced research, seminar courses and workshops, and industry connections. These support elements are designed to develop six targeted skills in program students - metacognitive skills, data analysis, problem solving, technical/lab skills, presentation skills, and scientific writing. These support structures and the enhanced skill sets of the students are hypothesized to improve their self-efficacy and eventual persistence in STEM careers. The program design and research study will be guided by Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) that predicts how variables such as support structures, self-efficacy, career outcome expectation, and goals affect students' career choices. This program will use a mixed-methods approach to examine how the proposed support structures affect these SCCT variables, graduation, and persistence in STEM-related careers. Given the diversity and unique demographic profile of Georgia State University, this study will advance knowledge about how certain supports affect the career choices for low-income students, underrepresented minorities, and first-generation students.