Planning: HBCU-UP: OPEN: Planning the Use of Strategic Partnerships to Build Pipelines for CHIPS through Morehouse College

The Historically Black Colleges and Universities - Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP) provides support to strengthen STEM undergraduate education and research at HBCUs. This planning project sponsors activities for Morehouse College to enhance its existing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Georgia Tech to develop a pipeline for African American males in CHIPS-related professions. This specific effort will align the work of the Morehouse Computer Science Department and the Georgia Tech Computer Engineering Department to implement a dual-degree engineering program to benefit both institutions and the students they serve. Participating students will earn a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Morehouse and a bachelor's degree in computer engineering from Georgia Tech. The primary objectives of this planning project are ensuring this program is attractive in recruiting students; providing the necessary preparation for students to be successful in their studies at both Morehouse and Georgia Tech; and preparing them for CHIPS-focused career and/or graduate school opportunities. Additional goals of the planning grant are to identify funding sources, prepare interested students as early as high school, and bring awareness to parents about the opportunities provided by the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. 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.