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This paper describes an NSF (National Science Foundation) S-STEM-funded scholarship program, representing a collaborative five-year grant project among three prominent universities in the Southeast region of the United States. Its primary objective is to support dedicated scholars in graduating and finding a professional pathway. Each institution recruited a cohort of 15-20 scholars annually for three years. The project offers scholarships and provides curricular and cocurricular support to academically talented but financially challenged students in the computing disciplines, including Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Cybersecurity, and Information Technology majors, starting from their junior years. The program aims to impact 150 scholars, most of whom are underrepresented in computing. Scholars receive support throughout their graduation and beyond should they pursue graduate studies in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) discipline at any of the three participating institutions. Besides funds, the program provides an expansive career pathway opportunity to each of its students, accompanied by various supporting services, a dedicated advising team, experiential learning offices, career services offices, and graduate schools. Supporting services include internship fairs, panel discussions with alumni, resume workshops, graduate school application workshops, and career fairs. The project brings together the unique collaboration of three institutions for each of its supported activities to significantly enhance the support and opportunities offered to its scholars and to conduct meaningful research studies that include significant-sized intersectional populations.
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Designed for Inclusion: Innovation in An Undergraduate Robotics & AI Research Program
The CMU Robotics Institute Summer Scholars (RISS) community prepares students for STEM graduate programs through immersive research experiences, mentorship, community engagement, and graduate school application support. This is achieved through a compelling sense of community across multiple platforms. RISS’ holistic scholar-focused support leads to 90% of RISS scholars applying to graduate school.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1950811
- PAR ID:
- 10575871
- Publisher / Repository:
- National Conference on Undergraduate Research
- Date Published:
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Institution:
- Carnegie Mellon University
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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