Awards to Increase Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Diversity

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 Drexel University (DU). Over its six-year duration, this project will fund scholarships for up to 23 unique undergraduate students who are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in Mechanical (ME) and Electrical/Computer Engineering (ECE).

Undergraduate students will receive up to four years of scholarship support. The Awards to Increase ME and ECE diversity (AIME) project seeks to increase student enrollment and persistence in STEM fields by linking scholarships with effective wrap-around services and addressing cultural barriers that have made ME and ECE less accessible to underrepresented minorities (URMs) and women.

By employing the Thrive Mosaic (TM) Framework, an ecosystem of resources and coaches will support the cohort of AIME scholars in developing a sense of belonging in their discipline and strengthening their identities as engineers. AIME scholars will also benefit from various activities including workshops, seminars and invited speakers to deepen their connections to their discipline and the AIME project.

The AIME scholars will reflect on their experiences studying engineering by producing a podcast series “Engineers Create!” Additionally, through structured mentoring and advising the AIME Scholars will establish their career goals and then prepare for their chosen career by participating in 18 months of Co-op learning experiences in industry and exploring undergraduate research. The AIME project will also host workshops for the TM partners and faculty designed to raise awareness of the barriers to success that face students in engineering disciplines (particularly URM and women) and introduce teaching approaches that encourage inclusiveness.

The AIME project has considerable potential to transform the engineering community’s approach to recruiting and retaining ME and ECE students from historically underserved communities, as well as providing a framework for programming that will support a more diverse student population in disciplines that have struggled to attract and retain talented URM and women.

The AIME project seeks to enhance enrollment, retention, academic performance, and graduation rates for low-income academically talented students, with a focus on those pursuing baccalaureate degrees in ME and ECE departments at DU. The project will engage in special efforts to attract female and URM students to apply to be scholarship recipients. This project will seek to answer the following research questions: (i) Does providing structured support services to URM/women broaden the participation of students in STEM? (ii) How does employing the Thrive Mosaic (TM) Framework help URM/women students navigate the resources most appropriate for them and create an equitable environment for their intellectual growth? and (iii) Do intentionally designed training and workshops delivered to the project's TM partners and faculty in cultural sensitivity transform STEM departments’ policies, practices, and classrooms into spaces that are welcoming for all students?

The AIME project will partner with local stakeholders in STEM education to recruit talented, under resourced students from URM and women populations in the Philadelphia School District. The AIME Program will provide both financial and academic support through scholarships, mentorship, tutoring, undergraduate research opportunities, and Co-op employment in preparation for engineering careers.

This project will generate knowledge about the effectiveness of the factors and activities influencing the recruitment and success of URMs and women in STEM. Expected findings from this research include the identification of design principles that will inform future approaches for designing student support activities within engineering programs. The evaluative work will use both quantitative and qualitative data to measure the overall and the ongoing effectiveness of the program.

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.