Targeted Infusion Project: Integrating Python Enhanced Basic Computing Skills into the Research and Educational Activities for Social Sciences

The Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP) through Targeted Infusion Projects supports the development, implementation, and study of evidence-based, innovative models and approaches for improving the preparation and success of HBCU undergraduate students so that they may pursue science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) graduate programs and/or careers. The goal of this project is to 1) improve students’ critical thinking and scientific reasoning skills, 2) increase recruitment and retention in social science majors with an added emphasis on data science, and 3) create a minor in social computing or social data analytics. The project aims to accomplish this goal by integrating Python computing techniques into the undergraduate social science curricula to enrich both student and faculty skills in computing. Infusing social sciences education with foundational computer programming literacy will not only diversify the curricula to be more STEM-oriented but will also enrich minority students' culture of capital, expanding their skills and resources and allowing for increased upward social mobility. Given the novelty of this approach, it enhances workforce with the necessary skills for data analysis, thereby advancing prosperity and welfare for underrepresented groups – particularly African Americans, Hispanics, and women. Thus, the project expands the scope of social sciences and the participation of students in the intellectual and academic tenor of a STEM component, specifically Python programming. This effort, therefore, broadens the participation of social sciences in STEM fields. 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.