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A formal pedagogical push emerged and later blossomed in designing integrated curriculum between STEM and non-STEM areas in secondary and higher education. A growing cadre of research identifies positive learning outcomes for students participating in an integrated curriculum who apply basic STEM knowledge to investigate social problems and justice issues within social contexts. Research indicates STEM students demonstrate fewer concerns with social issues, often placing a greater interest in the value of individualism. This article outlines a new integrative course, Science, Society and Self, which was supported by a National Science Foundation grant to Iona College in the Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) program. The Development of Excellence in Science through Intervention, Resilience, and Enrichment (DESIRE) program seeks to increase retention and graduation rates for economically disadvantaged and high-aptitude STEM majors. Skills important for success in STEM courses are reviewed, as are service-learning and policy applications. We also explore the intersections between nature of science (NOS) and sociological concepts. This culminates in distinguishing public science issues by connecting the intersections of human biographies, history, and societal structures through the sociological imagination, as conceived by C. Wright Mills. 

College students experiencing financial challenges also face additional social and academic challenges to staying enrolled through graduation. Colleges that have the greatest success in persistence to graduation have combined scholarships with other academic, emotional, and social support. Here, we review previous studies of the relationship between S-STEM programs and college retention. We then discuss interim findings from the Iona College Development of Excellence in Science through Intervention, Resilience, and Enrichment (DESIRE) National Science Foundation (NSF) S-STEM scholarship program. DESIRE provides tuition scholarships and other support to academically talented chemistry and computer science majors with financial need. We gathered students’ perspectives regarding the DESIRE program and what helps them to persist in college, through interviews with DESIRE scholars and qualitative surveys of DESIRE scholars and a comparison group of non-DESIRE students. We discuss implications for S-STEM programs and other initiatives that seek to retain more STEM undergraduate students with financial need.