This project is providing two-year scholarships for a total of 40 students with the goal of increasing the number of graduates with an Associates of Science in Pre-engineering or Physical Science from the University of New Mexico at Gallup (UNM-G). All the students are academically talented students demonstrating financial need and drawn from the surrounding area that is predominantly populated with students from the Navajo Nation and the Zuni Pueblo.
Students are recruited from a variety of sources including local high schools, collaboration with local math and engineering clubs, existing UNM-G "math camps", as well as on-campus learning communities specifically designed for prospective "Roads to Achieving a Degree in Science" (RADS) students. Selection criteria include financial need, academic potential, and achievement. Student support services build on the strong history at UNM-G of educating students who need developmental course work prior to successfully completing their associate degrees and transferring to four year programs. Specific student support activities include specially designed learning communities, faculty advising and recruitment, tutoring, a mentoring program provided by professionals employed in the STEM fields, and development of Summer Bridge programs for RADS Scholars to ease their transition to four year STEM degree programs.
