The NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) program supports the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need. This S-STEM project at Florida International University aims to increase the number of students with financial need who earn an undergraduate geoscience degree in four years and successfully enter thegeoscience workforce or graduate school. Over a five-year period, this project will fund 24 scholarships to undergraduate students who are pursuing bachelor's degrees in the geosciences, including atmospheric sciences. Scholars will enter the University as two cohorts of 12 students who will take similar classes. The Scholars will be mentored, receive math tutoring, have internship opportunities, and go on a week-long geosciences field trip to the Appalachian Mountains. The objectives of this project are to provide students with scholarships, as well as academic and social supports to help them graduate in four years. The project aims to reduce student debt and provide the training needed to pursue a career or graduate studies in geosciences. The project will measure student success in both time-to-degree and future career path. Education research will investigate how student experiences as part of a cohort contribute to retention in the geosciences and on-time graduation. Specifically, the research will focus on students' perceptions of their developing identity as geoscientists, their sense of belonging in the geoscience discipline, and their access to social capital within Florida International University's Geosciences Department. This information will provide the researchers with insights into how the cohort provides the students with a community of support. The results of the research will be used to refine ongoing cohort activities, as well as departmental teaching practices and activities, and will be communicated to other geosciences communities.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.
