Implementation Project: Transforming STEM Education at the University of the District of Columbia by Establishing a General Science Degree

Implementation Projects in the Historically Black Colleges and Universities - Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP) provide support to design, implement, study, and assess comprehensive institutional efforts to increase the numbers of students and the quality of their preparation by strengthening science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and research. This project at the University of the District of Columbia (UDC), a public, urban, land-grant HBCU, focuses on developing a General Science Baccalaureate (GSB) degree with supporting activities aimed at retaining students. This degree seeks to allow flexibility in preparing undergraduate students for the job market and graduate school in many specialized science, technology, and engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, including STEM teacher preparation. The GSB degree seeks to provide students an opportunity to explore and take advantage of the diverse course offerings across UDC’s College of Arts and Sciences, College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability, and Environmental Sciences, and School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. The project's overall goal is to increase the number of students pursuing science careers. The objectives are to (1) create and implement a General Science Baccalaureate degree, (2) develop and execute a dedicated recruitment and enrollment program for the GSB degree, (3) offer a comprehensive enrichment program and wrap-around activities, including student research, aimed at retention of STEM majors, and (4) conduct an education research study on the impacts of the project. The correlational mixed-method research study is designed to show if a GSB degree program that implements supplemental learning experiences and provides research opportunities will change a student's persistence and perceptions and identity as a STEM major and investigate the effects. The project is guided by an internal steering committee and an external advisory board, as well as by the process of formative evaluation. 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.