Increasing Access to Graduate Degrees, Professional Development, and Research Experiences: Pathways to Achievement in Chemical Industries

该项目将通过支持蒙克莱尔州立大学留住和毕业高成就的低收入学生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。蒙特克莱尔州立大学是一家西班牙裔服务机构，也是一家少数族裔机构。在五年的时间里，这个项目将为37名正在攻读化学硕士学位的全日制和兼职学生提供奖学金。奖学金获得者将获得最长两年的奖学金。该项目旨在通过1)奖学金，2)灵活的学位跟踪选项，3)增加辅导，4)暑期研究津贴，5)具有成本效益的15个月的硕士学位跟踪，使低收入学生能够攻读化学硕士学位。这个项目也很重要，因为它将增加学生参与短期研究项目的机会，这些项目符合学生的学业和工作时间表。众所周知，参与研究在化学教育中是一种影响很大的做法，但目前许多硕士研究生放弃了这一机会。该项目将产生关于增加研究生，特别是低收入在职硕士学生参与研究的战略的知识。教职员工将为Scholars提供更多参与数据分析或建模项目的机会，使Scholars的研究经验符合他们的学术、工作和个人时间表，并可以在家中进行。该项目将有助于建设新泽西州北部化工和制药行业所需的未来熟练劳动力。该项目的总体目标是提高低收入、高成就、有经济需求的研究生的STEM学位完成率。该项目有两个具体目标：1)创造灵活的选择，允许低收入、有学术天赋的学士学位的学生进修并获得化学硕士学位；2)改变和调整现有的化学硕士课程，以更好地为学生在工业和学术界的现代化学研究职位做准备。这个项目的动机是最近的一项研究表明，拥有专业科学硕士学位的学生很受欢迎。专业理科硕士项目为其员工培养行业和政府所需的知识和技能。此外，众所周知，包括团队合作和沟通在内的专业技能对于现代化学工业的成功至关重要，但传统化学硕士项目的学生往往缺乏发展这些技能的职业发展机会。该项目将确定学生在新泽西州北部化学和制药生物化学行业的职位所需的具有竞争力的技能，并促进对培养这些技能的最佳实践的理解。该项目将从采访、焦点小组和对本科生、硕士学生、教职员工和当地专业人员的调查中收集数据。利用这些数据，该项目将调查化学专业人员和学生如何评价一个项目，该项目提供较少的化学专业课程，同时为学生提供正式的专业技能课程。该项目的成果将通过演讲、出版物和通过访问大学进行非正式传播的方式提供。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 Montclair State University, a Hispanic Serving Institution and a majority minority institution. Over its five-year duration, this project will fund scholarships to 37 unique full time and part time students who are pursuing master’s degrees in chemistry. The Scholars will receive scholarships of up to two years. The project aims to enable low-income students to pursue a master’s degree in chemistry through 1) scholarships, 2) flexible degree track options, 3) increased tutoring, 4) summer research stipends, and 5) a cost-effective 15-month master’s degree track. This project is also significant because it will increase opportunities for students to participate in short-term research projects that fit into the students’ academic and work schedules. Research participation is known to be a high-impact practice in chemistry education, but many master’s students currently forgo this opportunity. The project will generate knowledge about strategies to increase research participation of graduate students, particularly low-income, working master’s students. Faculty members will offer Scholars additional opportunities to participate in data analysis or modeling projects, so that the Scholars’ research experience fits into their academic, work, and personal schedules and can be conducted from home. The project will contribute to building the skilled future workforce needed by the chemical and pharmaceutical industries in Northern New Jersey. The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving graduate students with demonstrated financial need. The project has two specific aims: 1) to create flexible options that allow low-income, academically talented, students with a bachelor’s degree to advance their studies and obtain a Master’s of Chemistry degree; 2) to change and adapt an existing Master’s of Chemistry program to better prepare students for modern chemistry research positions in industry and academia. This project is motivated by recent research suggesting that students with a Professional Science MS are in demand. Professional Science MS programs cultivate the knowledge and skills desired by industry and government for their employees. Additionally, it is well known that professional skills including teamwork and communication are critical for success in modern chemical industry, but students in traditional Master’s of Chemistry programs often lack professional development opportunities to develop such skills. This project will identify the skills that students need to be competitive for positions in Northern New Jersey chemistry and pharmaceutical biochemistry industries and advance the understanding of best practices to cultivate these skills. The project will gather data from interviews, focus groups, and surveys with undergraduate students, master’s students, faculty, and local professionals. Using these data, the project will investigate how chemistry professionals and students value a program that offers fewer chemistry-specific courses while offering students formal coursework in professional skills. Results of this project will be made available by presentations, publications, and informal dissemination through university visits. 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.