Leveraging Citizen Science to Grow and Diversify the Science, Engineering, and Technology Workforce of the Future

This project will contribute to the national need for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technologists by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at Marymount University, a private, Catholic institution in Arlington, VA, that was recently designated as a Hispanic-Serving Institution. Over its 6-year duration, this project will fund scholarships to 22 unique full-time students who are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in biology, biochemistry, or information technology.

First year students will receive up to 4-years of scholarship support. Through targeted communication and robust marketing, the number of students enrolled and retained in STEM programs at Marymount is expected to increase. Scholars will participate in collaborative activities designed to introduce them to citizen science, empower them to promote STEM in their local communities through an ambassador program, and allow them to engage with other STEM professionals by hosting a citizen science symposium.

Scholars will gain STEM-essential skills through process-oriented, topical citizen science projects and use those skills to serve their local communities. Scholars will develop multi-stage career plans and receive mentoring throughout the program from faculty and alumni.

The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. The following aims will be addressed (1) recruit and enroll 22 unique scholars across three cohorts; (2) retain and graduate program scholars within four years; and (3) place all scholars in STEM jobs or graduate programs within 1-year of graduation.

In addition the project aims to explore how engaging in citizen science affects students’ STEM skills including their ability to think creatively, analyze data critically, work effectively in a team, exhibit self-confidence, and lend a critical eye to examine their own perceptions. Participation in citizen science is hypothesized to increase undergraduate student engagement and make STEM more accessible.

Best practices for embedding citizen science in the undergraduate curriculum of STEM programs at Marymount will be explored, and a model for citizen science implementation at other universities will be created. This project aims to strengthen STEM skills, which will result in greater student success and retention and promote STEM careers. The skills developed throughout the project will allow for continued success and the professional mobility of participants.

The project will also benefit the communities with which scholars engage, demonstrating how science can be used as an instrument of service in local communities. A mixed methods evaluation approach will be used, including enrollment, retention, graduation, and career placement data, in addition to qualitative surveys, written reflections, and focus groups.

Results of the project will be made available through presentations and publications to a wide audience. 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.