Making the Master's Degree in Artificial Intelligence Accessible to High-Achieving Low-Income Students

该项目将通过支持高成就、低收入、有经济需求的学生在佛罗里达大西洋大学留校和毕业来促进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。佛罗里达大西洋大学是一所西班牙裔服务机构。该项目将支持20-30名大学三年级学生成为S-STEM学者。学者将被选入两个队列，并有资格获得为期三年的奖学金，以完成一个加速课程，获得工程学学士学位和人工智能硕士学位。除了奖学金，学者们还将获得一个基于证据的最佳实践系统，旨在提高他们的学术表现、毅力、学位完成率，并为人工智能及相关领域的高质量职业做好准备。这些做法包括课程改进(例如，分级指导、本科生研究)和共同课程机会(例如，分享成功研讨会、实习、金融知识)。这一实践体系旨在培养学者作为工程界成员的归属感和认同感，并增强他们为STEM职业生涯做好准备。该项目旨在将人工智能研究生教育带给成绩优异的低收入学生，从而以强有力的方式改变他们的职业轨迹和对STEM的贡献。该项目将通过研究学生奖学金的放大影响，结合以证据为基础的课程、共同课程和行业相关支持的协调系统，建立新的知识。该项目的总体目标是增加低收入、高成就、有经济需求的学生完成STEM学位。该项目将挑选学者，为他们提供奖学金，并支持他们完成加速的BS/MS学位课程，最终获得人工智能硕士学位。该项目将收集每个学者队列的定量数据，并将使用定性研究方法来评估学者的满意度、动机、个人能力的发展，如自我效能和劳动力准备。将使用混合方法对该项目进行评估。该项目将促进关于如何最好地培养第一代人工智能研究生研究人员的知识，并有助于在这一新兴的STEM领域和相关领域制定一套新的准备和职业入职指导方针。项目成果将通过专业会议和出版物以及指定的项目网站以及通过社交媒体和其他提高公众认识的渠道传播。该项目由NSF的科学、技术、工程和数学奖学金项目资助，该项目旨在增加在STEM领域获得学位的低收入学术天才学生的数量。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业成功、留住、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优势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 Florida Atlantic University, a Hispanic Serving Institution. The project will support 20-30 college juniors as S-STEM Scholars. Scholars will be selected into two Cohorts and qualify for three-year scholarships to complete an accelerated program to earn a BS in engineering plus an MS in Artificial Intelligence. Accompanying the scholarships, Scholars will have access to a system of evidenced-based best practices designed to enhance their academic performance, persistence, degree completion, and readiness for high quality careers in Artificial Intelligence and related fields. The practices include curricular enhancements (e.g., hierarchical mentoring, undergraduate research) and co-curricular opportunities (e.g., sharing success seminars, internships, financial literacy). This system of practices is designed to build Scholars’ sense of belonging and identities as members of the engineering community, as well as increasing their readiness for STEM careers. The project is intended to bring graduate education in artificial intelligence well within the reach of high-achieving low-income students, thus altering in powerful ways their career trajectories and contribution to STEM. The project will build new knowledge by examining the magnified impact of student scholarships combined with a coordinated system of evidenced-based curricular, co-curricular, and industry-related support on student academic success.The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving students with demonstrated financial need. The project will select, provide scholarships to, and support Scholars as they complete the accelerated BS/MS degree program culminating with a masters’ degree in Artificial Intelligence. The project will collect quantitative data on each cohort of Scholars and will use qualitative research approaches to assess Scholars’ satisfaction, motivation, development of personal competencies such as self-efficacy, and workforce preparedness. The project will be evaluated using a mixed methods approach. The project will advance knowledge about how best to prepare the first generations of graduate researchers in artificial intelligence and contribute to the development of a new set of guidelines for preparedness and career entry within this emerging STEM fields and related fields. Project results will be disseminated through professional conferences and publications and a designated project website, as well as through social media and other public awareness channels. 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.