9353780 Wall This proposal describes a summer internship program for 15 undergraduate women in the fields of science, engineering or mathematics (SEM), recruited from Missouri's colleges and universities. The program is designed to interest and involve the interns in SEM research, and to serve as a transition from undergraduate to graduate study by preparing the interns for admission and successful matriculation in graduate SEM education programs. SPWSEM'94 will provide the interns with an eight-week research experience designed to increase the interns' self- confidence and their familiarity with the graduate school environment. It will also provide mentoring, counseling and networking opportunities. SPWSEM'94 will complement our NSF and Department of Education sponsored programs which include women students. However, this effort will tailor these successful programs specifically for women in SEM. A research experience is the cornerstone of the summer program. SPWSEM'94 interns will be paired with faculty and graduate student mentors from the students' chosen disciplines. In addition, SPWSEM'94 faculty and graduate student mentors will provide encouragement and training for the interns to help them learn methods for persisting through the difficulties of pursing graduate study in primarily male-dominated fields. SPWSEM'94 is further designed to create opportunities for informal personal interactions with faculty, graduate students and interns, and to foster effective learning strategies and communication skills. We will provide a number of enrichment activities including panel discussions by research faculty, discipline specific computer workshops, and panel discussions with university, government and industry scientists, mathematicians and engineers regarding career opportunities and innovations in three represented fields. Interns also will received financial aid counseling and graduate school admissions counseling. At the end of the research experience, i nterns will present their research papers at a research forum for evaluation by faculty members and their peers. As an extension of the summer activity, student interns will attend a local or regional professional meeting with their mentors and will be encouraged to present a paper at that meeting. Interns will also receive a student membership in professional SEM organization for women to encourage them to make professional contacts that can provide participants with support throughout their graduate and professional careers. The success of SPWSEM'94 will be evaluated by a two-year comparison study of students who did not participate in an intervention program and of the SPWSEM'94 interns. ***
