Scholarships in Science and Technology for Talented Low-income Students

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 the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB). UAPB is an HBCU with 92% of students receiving Pell grants. Over its 5-year duration, this project will fund scholarships to 18 unique students who are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in the Agricultural Sciences, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science, or Industrial Engineering and Management.

First-year students, in two cohorts, will receive four years of scholarship support. Activities include a week-long orientation, regular advising and mentoring, peer-tutoring, and academic-year research participation. Rising sophomores will have the opportunity and financial support to take classes during the summer to help maintain progress toward graduation.

The project focuses on preparing students for summer research, graduate school, and joining 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. Five main objectives of the project are: 1) to recruit two cohorts of nine scholars, 2) to retain at least 95% of scholars through robust engagement activities, 3) to graduate at least 90% of scholars within four years, 4) to place at least 25% of scholars in graduate school to pursue STEM research careers, and 5) to follow-up with scholars to support them in succeeding in the first year of transition to industry or graduate school.

An S-STEM Achievement Counselor and faculty mentors will facilitate students' utilization of resources on and off-campus. Assessment of the project will occur through an internal Advisory Committee consisting of STEM chairpersons, as well as an external evaluator. The evaluator will gather and analyze data from students and faculty related to activities such as the orientation program, graduate school preparation, and mentoring.

Knowledge generation about STEM research and career preparation, particularly at an HBCU with a largely rural student population, could be beneficial to other institutions and STEM programs. 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.