Xavier University of Louisiana and the University of New Orleans propose to establish a Research Careers for Minority Scholars program for the purpose of recruiting promising high school graduates and currently enrolled students who will commit to pursuing graduate study in science or engineering. The proposed program will identify selected students and provide them with undergraduate and graduate teaching and research advisors, help in obtaining summer research internships, and financial aid in sufficient quantity so as to facilitate student success. The unique feature of the proposed project is the development of a Graduate Dual Degree (Bachelor of Science and Master of Science) arrangement between Xavier University (for undergraduate degrees) and the University of New Orleans (for graduate degrees) in chemistry, computer science, mathematics, physics, and engineering. Those students pursuing engineering careers will receive both the Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degree from the University of New Orleans. Structurally, this program is unique not only in its ability to provide students an opportunity to obtain an undergraduate and a graduate degree, but also, in a time frame which is reduced by one year from the traditional approach. Numerically, we expect this proposed project ultimately to increase the minority pool of doctoral candidates in the sciences by approximately 20% on a nation-wide basis. The amount requested from the National Science Foundation for this project is $2,363,08 or only $10,503 per year per student to obtain a Bachelors and Masters Degree in either Chemistry, Computer Science, Mathematics Physics, or Engineering. University cost sharing is set at an additional $776,168.
