Supporting STEM Success Through Prematriculation Undergraduate Research

The STEM Scholars program at Bucknell University was originally supported with a five-year National Science Foundation STEP grant to begin recruitment for a summer program in 2014. The grant, with a one-year no-cost extension, supported six cohorts of students. The recruitment of participants was specifically designed to attract typically underrepresented populations into STEM (Pell eligible, first generation, students of color, female identifying). As a result of successful implementation as measured by retention, persistence, and graduation rates, the university has secured private donations from generous alumni to endow the program. The tenth cohort of scholars participated in the summer of 2024.