Promoting the Advancement of Talented, High-Potential Students in Electrical and Computer Engineering through Financial, Career, and Professional Readiness

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 Stony Brook University. Over its five-year duration, this S-STEM Track 2 project will fund scholarships to 30 unique full-time students who are pursuing bachelor's degrees in electrical engineering and computer engineering, areas of growing need in the state.

Students will receive four-year scholarships, starting in their first year, toward degree completion. The project will support scholars by providing financial literacy education and financial counseling, as well as mentoring them toward career-readiness through activities such as externships and research experiences. The project will also foster social engagement and a sense of belonging through networking and community-building initiatives.

Given Stony Brook University's commitment to social mobility, this approach has the potential to broaden participation in engineering fields, advance understanding of effective support systems for at-risk students, and study the effectiveness of the project's interventions in promoting workforce entry, career development, and financial wellness.

The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates in electrical engineering and computer engineering. Activities surrounding the scholarships have three aims: (1) supporting students through financial education toward financial readiness post-graduation, (2) designing and implementing programs to support academic success and career readiness, and (3) strengthening a sense of belonging through peer engagement.

The project's effectiveness will be assessed through a rigorous research and evaluation plan. These project components will advance knowledge by building on existing models to investigate factors affecting academic, career, and social engagement among low-income undergraduates. The longitudinal research will assess how psychosocial factors impact students' career trajectories and whether exposure to financial wellness, career readiness education, and professional and peer networks promotes greater career efficacy, academic success, and persistence.

Results will be disseminated through publications and presentations, contributing to broader educational practices and institutional policies.

This project is funded by the NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) 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.