Intellectual Merit: The College of Wooster Math, Computer Science, Physics, and Chemistry (WMCSPC) program provides scholarships to 30 individual students to complete a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree and prepares them for careers and graduate work in STEM fields. The program's objectives are to: have every WMCSPC student be involved in a learning community cohort; have a senior student as a mentor in the first year, along with a STEM faculty mentor; and participate in career counseling and advising. Given the College's Independent Study Program, its strong record of graduating students who pursue PhDs, and faculty who publish regularly in peer-reviewed journals, the WMCSPC Program can increase the number of students who pursue careers and graduate studies in STEM fields.
Broader Impact: The strong growth in high tech jobs in northeastern Ohio necessitates the education of more students in the fields of mathematics, computer science, physics, and chemistry. The WMCSPC Program is achieving this goal, with special emphasis on women and minorities, first-generation college students, and those from low-income and disadvantaged families. The program allows these students to enroll full-time, complete degrees, and enter the workforce and graduate school virtually debt-free. Students are recruited from schools with large numbers of minorities in urban areas (e.g. Cleveland and Atlanta), as well as from Appalachia, where many families of lower socio-economic status reside. Key to the success of this program is the experience the college has in mentoring students and in its collaborative research partnerships with other institutions (e.g. Ohio State University). Accomplishments of WMCSPC students are disseminated through national conferences and peer-reviewed papers.
