Planning: building institutional capacity for future S-stem support at meharry medical college

The National Science Foundation Division of Undergraduate Education awarded Meharry Medical College $100,000 on August 15, 2026, through the Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) Program to plan institutional capacity for a future S-STEM proposal supporting low-income graduate students in computer science and data science.

The planning project runs through July 31, 2027, at Meharry's Nashville, Tennessee campus. Activities include identifying the pool of potential scholars, evaluating institutional policies, refining evaluation plans, strengthening external partnerships, piloting mentoring and co-curricular supports, and forming an advisory board. The planning process engages faculty, staff, and administrators to ensure the resulting proposal reflects the needs and circumstances of prospective scholars. Upon completion, Meharry will submit a full S-STEM proposal targeting academically talented, low-income undergraduate and graduate students with demonstrated financial need in STEM disciplines that address workforce gaps in artificial intelligence, energy, and related critical sectors.

Abstract

This scholarships in STEM (S-STEM) planning project from meharry medical college lays the groundwork for a future S-STEM proposal. This proposal would look to provide scholarships and academic support to talented, low-income graduate students in disciplines including computer science and data science. The planning process includes determining the pool of potential scholars for a future submission, scrutinizing institutional policies, refining evaluation plans, and strengthening key external partnerships. The project will also pilot mentoring and CO-curricular supports that demonstrate potential to positively impact scholar success and form an advisory board to support the project team's efforts. The overall goal of this scholarships in STEM planning project is an S-STEM proposal with significant potential 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. The disciplines emphasized by this project directly speak to this need and have impact on the STEM workforce in AI, energy and other key areas of need. The project will engage faculty, staff and administrators in the planning process to ensure that the resulting proposal reflects the realities of prospective scholars at the institution. 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.