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CSU Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation College of Natural Sciences & Mathematics

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Undergraduate Program

CSU-LSAMP’s overall goal for the project is to contribute to the development of a STEM workforce, which is broadly inclusive, globally competitive, and prepared to participate at the frontiers of science. Specifically, CSU-LSAMP aims to:

  1. enhance the academic and professional preparation of CSU-LSAMP participants, most of whom are students from underrepresented minorities (URM), for careers in STEM;
  2. further improve persistence and graduation rates for CSU-LSAMP participants;
  3. increase aggregate production of STEM degrees awarded by the CSU to URM students;
  4. increase the number of CSU-LSAMP students who advance to STEM graduate study; and
    document, disseminate, and replicate undergraduate intervention models that increase access to, and
  5. success in STEM baccalaureate degree programs and facilitate admissions to STEM graduate programs.

The types of activities that offered to support each objective have consistently been shown to faciliate retention and progression of URM students in STEM, and represent a set of well-established "best practices."

Notably, the project continues to include the top five LSAMP hallmark activities, which were identified in the Urban Institute's national study of LSAMP (i.e. research experiences, mentoring, internships, scholarships/stipends and academic support/tutoring). In addition, in light of the Urban Institute's finding that those who participated in research were more likely to pursue and complete graduate degrees, this project also includes a variety of activities designed to provide opportunies to:

  • enhance student qualifications for graduate programs (e.g. GRE preparation, teaching experiences, research presentations and internships), and
  • collaborate with other student support programs on participating campuses (e.g. McNair and NIH-NIGMS Bridges to the Future programs) and with programs at Ph.D. granting institutions (e.g. AGEP) that share the goal of broadening participation in STEM.

Program Objectives

As a STEM Pathways and Research Alliance LSAMP, CSU-LSAMP's specific objectives for 2018-2023 include the following:

  • Objective 1 Academic Integration: Support students at critical transition points in their STEM careers (e.g. entering as freshmen, transferring from community college, declaring a major in a STEM discipline) and in “gatekeeper” courses in STEM with the goal of improving student performance and persistence in STEM.
  • Objective 2 Professionalization: Provide opportunities for students to engage in research projects, internships, international activities, conferences, and graduate school preparation activities with the goal of increasing the number of students entering graduate programs and professional careers in STEM.
  • Objective 3 Social Integration: On-going exposure to experiences and opportunities that are important for socialization into science and activities that build a sense of community within STEM disciplines.