Enhancing Career Outcomes Through Mentoring, Research, and Focused Career Discernment in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics

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 Seattle University, a comprehensive private Jesuit university of approximately 7,500 primarily undergraduate students. Over its six-year duration, this project will fund scholarships to 24 unique full-time students who are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in biology, chemistry, or mathematics.

Low-income, academically-talented, and first-generation students will be awarded scholarships of $10,000 for four years. Building on institutional research, lessons learned from prior awards from the S-STEM program, the research literature, and an understanding of the unique experiences of low-income first-generation students, the project will provide financial support and a system of academic and support services to foster student success.

Through evaluation, the project will assess the significance of an early research experience in data science as a catalyst for biology, chemistry, and mathematics majors’ further research and job placement. Examinations of an innovative badging program to incentivize the use of campus services and participation in project activities will generate knowledge about the effectiveness of gamification in encouraging participation in a multi- dimensional, structured career discernment process, thus complementing an emergent literature focused on gamification in classroom settings.

Graduating scholars will have fundamental skills in data science, a critical area of national need and a valuable skill set across a range of STEM industries. They will be well prepared for regional opportunities in the technology, life sciences/biotech, and environmental sectors. Beyond the students directly served, this program will improve Seattle University’s mechanisms for connecting all STEM majors to support offices across campus, increasing the retention and career preparation of our diverse student body.

The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. Four key objectives guide the project. First is to award scholarships to low-income, academically talented students majoring in biology, chemistry, or mathematics.

Second is to increase graduation rates of low-income students in those fields. Third is to provide students with an early, interdisciplinary research experience in data science and targeted career formation activities. Fourth, and finally, is to improve understanding of how to connect students with academic and career services, such as tutoring and career planning.

To meet these objectives, the project includes three major components: a badge-award system to incentivize the use of support services; a Career Discernment Toolkit, which encourages students to explore possible career options; and a second-year data science course, which is designed as an entry point into undergraduate research. Using a mixed methods design, the project will assess the impact of student participation in project activities on academic success and employment outcomes and the effectiveness of gamification in encouraging the use of campus services.

Promising practices adapted or developed through this program, such as badging, the Career Discernment Toolkit, and the interdisciplinary research course, will be disseminated broadly to other colleges and universities through the University website, conference presentations, and 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

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.