NSF Award
2322670
The long term goal of this collaborative planning project is to 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 Delaware (UD) and West Chester University of Pennsylvania (WCU). Specifically, the partnering institutions will conduct an intensive planning effort to prepare for a future Track 3 S-STEM proposal centered on undergraduate and graduate scholars pursuing degrees relevant to semiconductor manufacturing and quantum science careers. These are important fields for America’s future economic competitiveness and the demand for a skilled workforce in these areas is growing dramatically. The specific goals of this planning project, which includes the American Institute for Research (AIR), are to 1) assess the needs of the low-income target student population, 2) design a system of supports that will meet these needs, 3) investigate methods for monitoring the effectiveness of these supports so that continuous improvement can be made, and 4) develop the financial mechanisms to support future cohorts of scholars. The project will establish a 3+2 program that supports low-income students as they earn a BS from WCU and a Master’s degree from UD in a total of 5 years. The structure of the program will significantly reduce both the time and net cost required to earn a graduate degree and will accelerate students’ entry into the semiconductor manufacturing and quantum science workforce. <br/><br/>This collaborative planning effort builds off WCU's current NSF S-STEM project (award #2028230), which is supporting 18 undergraduates in earning bachelor's degrees. WCU has developed a recruiting network including 20 high schools serving diverse, predominantly low-income students in the greater Philadelphia region. The newly developed 3+2 program will focus on students earning Physics or Chemistry bachelor's degrees from WCU and progressing into one of four master’s degree programs at UD: a) Quantum Science and Engineering, b) Materials Science and Engineering, c) Electrical and Computer Engineering, or d) Semiconductor Device Manufacturing. The scope of activities to be conducted during the planning period include: 1) investigating high school students' knowledge of and interest in career paths; 2) investigating which supports currently in place for WCU S-STEM scholars should be continued or adjusted for implementation in the future Track 3 submission; 3) investigating the factors used by graduate admission committees to mitigate any biases that might impact low-income applicants; 4) developing a design-based implementation research plan to study and improve the effectiveness of all interventions; 5) developing a new master’s degree program in Semiconductor Device Manufacturing; 6) completing articulation agreements; and 7) developing faculty training and preparation protocols. 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.<br/><br/>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.
