Improving Recruitment, Retention, and Success of Marine Science Undergraduate Students to Enter the Blue Economy Workforce

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 Marine Science students with demonstrated financial need at the University of Maine. Over its five-year duration, this project will fund scholarships to 25 unique full-time students who are pursuing a bachelor’s degree in marine science.

All students recruited at the freshman level will receive a four-year scholarship, and sophomore students will receive three years of scholarship funding. This program will support the advancement of scholars through the establishment of a Scholar Success Mentoring Network, and optional participation in a variety of program activities, including undergraduate research experiences, monthly professional development workshops, networking opportunities, formal summer internships/externships, and a variety of cohort-building activities.

As part of this program, scholars can opt to be trained in an ambassador's program that teaches the students how to assemble, stock, and maintain a mobile touch tank, and transport them to rural areas across the state to teach youth about marine life and careers in the marine sciences. This program gives scholars valuable practice in leadership, facilitation, and professional communication skills, and instills positive perceptions of STEM to students, parents, teachers, and the public at large.

Overall, this program will build significant capacity for low-income students to enter the STEM education and the diverse Blue Economy workforce which is in high demand. The Blue Economy is an economic system that seeks to use ocean environments in a sustainable way to support jobs and economic growth.

The overall goal of the project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need in marine science. The STEM workforce is projected to grow by almost 11% by 2031, and the Blue Economy in particular is predicted to grow at double the rate of the rest of the economy by 2030. Unequal access to science education by rural students limits their ability to attain advanced degrees and enter the STEM workforce.

This project seeks to establish sustainable pathways for recruiting students from rural locales and aims to increase first to second year retention rates, as well as four-year graduation rates for scholars. Moreover, this project will advance our knowledge of the effectiveness of mentoring, cohort building, and professional development in student success, and in promoting scholars’ career advancement.

Results of this project will be made available through presentations at local, regional, and national presentations, and well as through both popular press and peer reviewed 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.