Calculus to Careers: Scholarships Targeting Academically Rising Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Students

This project will contribute to the national need for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, and engineers, by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss). Over its 6-year duration, this Track 2 project will fund scholarships to 60 unique full-time students who are pursuing bachelor's degrees in chemistry, computer science, computer engineering, forensics, geology, marine science, mathematics, ocean engineering, physics, and polymer engineering. The project will provide those scholarships to eligible first year, freshmen and transfer students. In addition to providing financial and academic support, the project will utilize evidence-based practices that are significant for enhancing the success of low-income STEM students, thereby increasing the number of STEM graduates. By employing a mixed-methods approach, the project will also investigate both important academic and emotional factors that impact STEM student achievement. This research will produce valuable insights into the relationships between self-efficacy, science motivation, and science identity. Ultimately, the findings will significantly contribute to the broader understanding of how to support and retain low-income students in STEM fields. The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of high-achieving, low-income undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. The project has six key objectives: provide financial assistance to students in STEM programs requiring Calculus I; establish freshmen and transfer cohorts; leverage existing academic support; develop Integrated STEM Education programming focused on math application; build science identity among cohorts; and establish disciplinary community through faculty mentoring and professional society engagement. At Southern Miss, 47% of students in STEM programs must take prerequisite courses before Calculus I, creating both academic and financial barriers to degree completion. The project aims to produce more STEM graduates who will help fulfill workforce demands and achieve social mobility, and the project leaders will assess the program's effectiveness, tracking quantitative metrics like retention rates, Calculus I success rates, cumulative GPA, and time-to-degree. Additionally, qualitative assessments will examine behavioral changes, self-efficacy, and motivation for STEM among participants. Findings, best practices, and strategies learned will be shared internally through biannual project leadership meetings and internally through the Center for Faculty Development. Externally, results will be presented at regional STEM education conferences and published in peer-reviewed journals focusing on discipline-based education research and evidence-based teaching practices. 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. 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.