Expanding Participation and Promoting Excellence in Biotechnology Careers Through the Interdisciplinary Biochemistry Masters Program

This project will 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 North Carolina State University. A total of 30 scholars pursuing interdisciplinary master's degrees in biochemistry will receive scholarships averaging $20,000 per year for up to five years. Scholars will receive faculty and peer mentoring, and the project will build strong scholar cohorts through a focused two-week onboarding experience, shared office spaces for scholars, and regular social and professional networking opportunities. The overall goal of this Track 2 Scholarships in STEM project is to increase STEM degree completion of academically talented, low-income graduate students in biochemistry with demonstrated financial need. There is a significant national need to grow the STEM workforce and nurture key talent that will ensure economic competitiveness and provide domestic leadership across critical sectors. This project directly speaks to this need by supporting STEM student success, which will strengthen the workforce in biotechnology and other key areas of need. The project will be assessed by an experienced evaluator that will explore scholars' experiences in the program, career preparation, the effectiveness of mentoring activities, and the development of scholar networks. The data generated will contribute to the knowledge base regarding effective strategies to support talented, low-income students in STEM. This project is funded by NSF's Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics program, which seeks to increase the number of academically talented, low-income 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.