Transfer to Interdisciplinary Natural and Mathematical Sciences (TraIN) 2.0

该项目将通过支持亚利桑那州立大学新的跨学科艺术与科学学院留住并毕业高成就、低收入、有经济需求的学生，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。亚利桑那州立大学为佩尔合格的非传统学生和转校生提供很大比例的服务。在为期5年的时间里，该项目将为45名正在攻读跨学科自然和数学科学专业学士学位的独特全日制学生提供奖学金，这些专业包括生物学、法医学、环境科学、药理学/毒理学、生物技术、统计学、应用数学和应用计算。来自合作社区学院和预科学院的转学学生将获得最长3年的奖学金。该项目旨在支持在亚利桑那州和美国各地高需求的STEM领域获得大学教育机会较少但潜力很大的学生。学生将通过与教师导师、他们的同龄人、最初奖学金项目的校友、同行导师、将提供“软技能”研讨会的专业人员以及通过跟踪研究实验室的行业导师的关系，在他们的本科学位项目中获得留住和支持。作为一所拥有多样化的低收入和非传统转学学生群体的机构，该项目有可能扩大美国西南部和其他地区STEM劳动力的参与。此外，它将继续发展一个学者网络，在未来的毕业生进入STEM工作大军时为他们提供支持。这个项目的总体目标是增加低收入、高成就、有经济需求的本科生完成STEM学位。这项提案建立在目前的一个项目的基础上，该项目在凤凰城大都市区三所服务于拉美裔的社区学院和亚利桑那州立大学新的跨学科艺术与科学学院之间建立了一个转学联盟。这一新项目将范围扩大到凤凰城大都市区更多的社区大学和高中合作伙伴。该项目将为亚利桑那州立大学45名独特的学者提供长达三年的支持，奖学金最高可达1万美元/年，因为他们正在努力攻读STEM学位。此外，该项目将消除学生参与研究和实习的障碍，以提高STEM劳动力的准备程度。该奖学金项目计划研究在低收入、多样化和主要是非传统的转移人口中实施研究和/或实习的有效性。该项目的研究结果应该有助于加深人们的理解，即与同行和教师导师的不那么正式的跟踪经历如何增强了学生寻找和参与长期研究/实习经验的信心。此外，该项目旨在调查从事长期研究和实习经验的学生是否比他们的同龄人更有可能在毕业后进入STEM劳动力大军或研究生院。该项目希望通过从高需求的凤凰城就业市场增加新的专业人员，并将这些毕业生返回到高需求的凤凰城来培养STEM人才。这些新诞生的专业人士将通过跟踪和实习经验与跨学科领域的其他STEM专业人员高度联系，使他们成为STEM未来的有影响力的创新者，以及追随他们脚步的STEM学生的导师。项目工作人员将通过举办研讨会、在亚利桑那州转移峰会和各种国内和国际会议等活动上发言以及通过出版物向其他学院和大学传播最佳做法。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 Arizona State University’s New College of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences. Arizona State University serves a large proportion of Pell eligible, non-traditional and transfer students. Over its 5-year duration, this project will fund scholarships for 45 unique full-time students who are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in interdisciplinary natural and mathematical science majors including biology, forensic science, environmental science, pharmacology/toxicology, biotechnology, statistics, applied mathematics, and applied computing. Transfer students from partner community colleges and preparatory academies will receive scholarships for up to 3 years. This project aims to support students with great potential but fewer opportunities to achieve a college education in high-demand STEM fields within Arizona and across the United States. Students will be retained and supported in their undergraduate degree programs through relationships with faculty mentors, their peer cohort, alumni from the original scholarship project, peer mentors, professionals who will offer “soft skill” workshops, and industry mentors through shadowing in a research laboratory. As an institution with a diverse population of low-income and non-traditional transfer students, this project has the potential to broaden participation within the STEM workforce in the southwestern U.S. and beyond. Furthermore, it will continue to develop a network of scholars who will support future graduating scholars as they enter the STEM workforce.The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. This proposal builds on a current project that created a transfer consortium in the Phoenix metropolitan area between three Hispanic-Serving community colleges and the New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Science at Arizona State University. This new project expands the reach to additional community college and high school partners in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The project will support 45 unique scholars at Arizona State University for up to three years with scholarships of up to $10,000/year, as they work toward a STEM degree. Additionally, the project will remove barriers to student participation in research and internships that improve STEM workforce readiness. This scholarship project plans to study the effectiveness of implementing research and/or internship shadowing with a low-income, diverse and primarily non-traditional transfer population. Project findings should advance the understanding of how less formal shadowing experiences with peer and faculty mentors increase student confidence about seeking out and engaging with longer-term research/internship experiences. Furthermore, the project intends to examine whether students who engage in longer-term research and internship experiences are more likely than their peer group to enter the STEM workforce or graduate school after graduation. This project hopes to build STEM talent by adding new professionals from, and returning these graduates to, the high-need Phoenix job market. These newly minted professionals will be highly connected with other STEM professionals in interdisciplinary fields through shadowing and internship experiences, allowing them to be influential innovators for the future of STEM, and mentors to STEM students who follow in their footsteps. Project staff will disseminate best practices to other colleges and universities by hosting a workshop, presenting at events such as the AZ Transfer Summit and various national and international meetings, and through publications. 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.