The S-STEM scholarship project is designed to increase the number of students from underrepresented groups with Bachelor's degrees.      It is also designed to increase the number of students who wish to pursue their education in graduate school or participate in the                    nation's workforce. The S-STEM scholarships are expected to directly offset the financial need that derails many such aspirants at ASU. The focus of the project is on retention, and as such, is using, in broad terms, the integration of research and education as the core guiding principle.

 

Objectives

The S-STEM project at Alabama State University will focus intensely on recruitment efforts of underrepresented groups in the STEM discipline and provide access to educational and research activities.

The main objectives are:

1. To identify and recruit students from low-income groups with the aim of providing academic and financial support in the form of tuition and fees.
2. To provide educational and research support through faculty and peer monitoring.
3. To provide special advisement, mentoring, career guidance, and placement in STEM disciplines.

The program seeks to identify challenges that make it difficult for retention in the STEM coursework and that prevent the successful completion of the STEM degree. The program offers academic support services, such as supplemental instruction and identifies early warning signals of poor performance in coursework so to increase student success in STEM courses. The program will recruit 10 or more students per semester during the four year period and will focus on integrating education and research activities in the emerging areas of biology, chemistry, physics, computer science, and mathematics.