The goal of the S-STEM scholarship program at Truman State University is to increase the number of academically talented students who successfully complete a STEM baccalaureate degree and to increase the diversity of the STEM student body at Truman. The project supports talented students with demonstrated financial need who are majoring in Biology, Chemistry, and Physics or related interdisciplinary programs. Scholarships and student support services are provided during the freshman and sophomore years, when evidence shows that Truman State students are most vulnerable to leaving STEM majors. The objectives of the project are: 1) to increase the freshman to junior year retention rate for students in the target disciplines; 2) to increase the percentage of freshman Biology, Chemistry, and Physics majors who are minority students; 3) to engage first and second year students in the target disciplines in interdisciplinary thinking and reasoning; 4) to connect project participants to critical student support services. Through special seminar courses and cohort meetings, scholarship recipients engage in a range of activities with an interdisciplinary theme designed to promote a sense of community and develop a support network to help them persist in their STEM major.
