Morgan State University, a public urban institution with about 90% of its students of African-American ancestry, provides scholarships to meet the outstanding financial needs of academically talented students majoring in Biology. The scholarships allow scholars to devote time that would otherwise be spent working more than 20 hours per week to pay for their education to instead focus intensively on their academic and professional development. In addition to the financial assistance, students in the STARS-1 program receive active and structured support of both their academic success and professional goals. Students are also strongly encouraged to undertake mentored undergraduate research projects during the summer or academic year. Through these interventions, it is anticipated that the students will persist and excel to graduation and go on to diversify the STEM workforce and graduate education programs. This project builds on several other significant federally-funded activities and is expected to lead to similar initiatives targeting other unique populations of students majoring in a variety of STEM disciplines.
