The Achieving in Research, Mathematics and Science (ARMAS) Scholarship Program provides $10,000 per year for up to a three-year period to three cohorts of four New Mexico Highlands undergraduates majoring in biology, chemistry, environmental geology or forestry. The financial support will enable students to work off-campus less and focus on attending school full-time during the last years of their studies. Integrated with financial support, students receive enhanced academic and career support services, faculty mentorship, and peer support. Each semester the ARMAS scholars participate in an interdisciplinary, problem-based seminar that incorporates the acquisition of skills required of scientists - how to pose questions, delve into the existing literature, design experiments, find collaborators, use new instruments, develop protocols, collect and analyze data, and summarize and present results. Throughout the scholarship period, guidance is provided to ensure a smooth transition into a career or graduate program in their field. NMHU is an open enrollment institution serving a large rural population characterized by diverse cultural, economic, linguistic, and educational backgrounds. The ARMAS Scholarship Program addresses the needs of these students and the NSF S-STEM goals by improving educational opportunities and increasing retention for STEM students, consequently addressing retention and graduation rates in the biology, forestry, environmental geology and chemistry disciplines at a Hispanic-Serving Institution in rural northern New Mexico.
