S-stem hub: translating undergraduate success into graduate opportunity

The National Science Foundation Division of Undergraduate Education awarded The University of Texas at El Paso $2,999,998 on October 1, 2026, under the STEM Education program (CFDA 47.076) to establish a research hub examining how institutional factors influence graduate aspirations, readiness, and success of low-income STEM students at research-intensive universities.

The S-STEM Research Hub will conduct multi-campus research coordinated across five strands addressing the undergraduate-to-graduate continuum: advising and graduate readiness; mentoring, identity, and belonging; transfer and community college integration; institutional ecosystems; and graduate workforce preparation and career alignment. The hub will engage researchers, institutional leaders, and stakeholders to identify how research universities can reduce financial, structural, and psychosocial barriers shaping graduate pathways for academically talented, low-income students. The project recognizes evidence that low-income students postpone or forgo graduate education at higher rates than peers due to costs and other challenges, and seeks to build the knowledge base on how undergraduate S-STEM practices can be adapted and scaled to support graduate opportunity.

Performance is located in El Paso, Texas. The award period runs from October 1, 2026, through September 30, 2031. This is a Project Grant assistance type.

Abstract

This s-stem research hub will contribute to the national need for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians by exploring how institutional factors impact the graduate aspirations, readiness, and success of low-income stem students at research-intensive universities. There is some evidence that low-income students postpone or choose not to pursue graduate education at a higher rate than their peers due to the costs and other challenges. While many s-stem projects have demonstrated strong undergraduate outcomes, less is known about how these practices can be adapted and scaled to support graduate opportunity. The project will engage researchers, institutional leaders, and other stakeholders to address this broad question. The overall goal of this scholarships in stem research hub is to increase the knowledge base on academically talented, low-income graduate students. 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. The hub will conduct multi-campus research to examine how research universities can reduce financial, structural, and psychosocial barriers that shape graduate pathways. Project research will be coordinated across five strands that are critical in the undergraduate-to-graduate continuum: (1) advising & graduate readiness; (2) mentoring, identity, & belonging; (3) transfer & community college integration; (4) institutional ecosystems; and (5) graduate workforce preparation & career alignment. 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 planned for this award.