Building engineering pathways for low-income undergraduates through integrated support structures

The National Science Foundation awarded Grand Valley State University $1.978 million on January 1, 2026, under the STEM Education program (CFDA 47.076) to support retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income undergraduate engineering students through integrated scholarships and mentoring.

The project will provide scholarships averaging $10,648 per year for up to five years to 24 undergraduate scholars pursuing bachelor's degrees in biomedical engineering, computer engineering, electrical engineering, interdisciplinary engineering, mechanical engineering, and product design and manufacturing engineering. Scholars will receive faculty mentoring and participate in a four-week residential summer camp featuring social activities, workshops, and classroom experiences designed to ease adaptation to college learning. A year-long, faculty-mentored technology career program will engage scholars in collaborative technical projects and professional development workshops. Additional support includes individualized tutoring, targeted seminars and workshops, conference participation, and a family and community support group. Project evaluation will employ mixed methods to assess outcomes and impact.

Performance occurs at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan, with a period of performance from January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2031. The assistance type is a Project Grant.

Abstract

This project will contribute to the national need for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at grand valley state university. A total of 24 undergraduate scholars pursuing bachelor of science degrees in biomedical engineering, computer engineering, electrical engineering, interdisciplinary engineering, mechanical engineering, and product design & manufacturing engineering will receive scholarships averaging $10,648 per year for up to five years. Scholars will receive faculty mentoring, and the project will build strong scholar cohorts through a four-week residential summer camp featuring content delivered through social activities, workshops, and classroom experiences designed to help students adapt to the college learning environment. Scholars will also engage in a year-long, faculty-mentored technology career program that includes collaborative technical projects and professional development workshops. Additional activities will include individualized tutoring, targeted seminars and workshops, conference participation, and a family and community support group. The overall goal of this track 2 scholarships in stem project is to increase stem degree completion of academically talented, low-income undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. There is a significant national need to grow the stem workforce and nurture key talent that will ensure economic competitiveness and provide domestic leadership across critical sectors. This project directly speaks to this need by supporting stem student success, which will strengthen the workforce in engineering and other key areas of need. The project will be assessed by an experienced evaluator who will use mixed methods to assess project outcomes and impact, and the data generated will contribute to the knowledge base regarding effective strategies to support talented, low-income students in stem. This project is funded by NSF's scholarships in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics program, which seeks to increase the number of academically talented, low-income students with demonstrated financial need who earn degrees in stem fields. IT also aims to improve the education of future stem workers, and to generate knowledge about academic success, retention, transfer, graduation, and academic/career pathways of low-income students. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- subawards are not planned for this award.