This project targets undergraduate science majors with an interest in health science fields who are from under-represented communities or from economically or educationally disadvantaged backgrounds. Historically, many such students initially express interest in careers in health sciences, but then leave science majors for other disciplines. Often the obstacle is one or more of the "gateway" courses for which they lack sufficient preparation. The project helps participants achieve success by meeting their educational and financial needs through their sophomore, junior, and senior years. The project provides three-year scholarships for 20 students in science and mathematics disciplines; enhanced introductory calculus and chemistry courses; expanded student support services, including tutoring, career exploration, and summer enrichment activities; and cohort-building activities. Students are selected in the spring of their first year and supported until they graduate. Intellectual Merit: The project takes into account previous efforts toward support of under-represented and under-prepared students in the sciences, and an investigation of why students initially interested in science choose other majors. The project has consulted an extensive literature on motivation, learning, and persistence in science fields and identified elements critical to student retention and academic success. The aim is to provide these elements within the liberal arts context. Broader Impacts: In addition to scholarships that will relieve financial burdens for qualified students, the project provides enrichment opportunities to increase persistence of all students in science and mathematics fields. By providing revised introductory courses and expanded support services open to all students in science and math, the project can encourage all students to persist toward degrees in these fields.
