The Undergraduate Scholarships with Mathematics and Science Training in Environmental Research (US MASTER) program enabled through NSF S-STEM funding awarded nearly 40 scholarships to primarily first generation and underrepresented minority students with financial need majoring in Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics, and Geography for six years. The primary purpose of the US MASTER scholarship program is to promote recruitment and retention of students in the sciences through accessible high impact practices including: mentoring/advising, a seminar series, and involvement of students in hands-on research experiences. External assessment was a key factor in the program’s success. Formative review findings led to changes and implementation of new features. We discovered that advising and mentoring, including informational support, were cited by US MASTER students as key to their motivation to pursue research opportunities and careers. Financial support was identified as important by 75% of students. We experimented with several different seminar formats over the years with the goals of (a) creating a supportive learning community for students of different majors, (b) providing training and resources for professional development, and (c) introducing and promoting research experiences. The features of the most successful seminars, as identified by students, were: A shared theme (e.g.,a book club format), ensuring interaction of all participants Meaningful assignments contributing to career development such as personal statements, High levels of interaction among students and faculty. Finally, the most essential component of the program was involvement in research providing further motivation to stay and pursue the specific field. While the program cannot fund the actual research experiences of students, we were able to support some material funding in a number of research labs. Program faculty advised and led students in finding external research opportunities, including participation of US MASTER students in summer REU programs. The exposure to research experience indicated higher motivation towards careers in STEM and specifically continuation in graduate studies.

Successful S-STEM scholarship program for undergraduate students at varying stages of degree progress

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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