University Receives $1 Million NSF Grant to Provide Scholarships in the Sciences

Over the next six years, Rockhurst University will receive $1 million in Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics grant funding from the National Science Foundation as part of a holistic program to help cohorts of students with financial need complete their undergraduate degrees in the sciences.

In addition to providing financial aid for up to 10 students in each of the two cohorts, what is being called the SMART-STEM (Scholarships and Mentoring to Advance Retention and Training in STEM) scholarship program at Rockhurst will also support wraparound services that will help those students persist and succeed through graduation and beyond.

The program is open to both first-year and transfer students admitted to Rockhurst University who demonstrate financial need and who pursue undergraduate degrees in biology, physics or chemistry. Scholarship awards of up to $15,000 per year will begin in the fall 2024 semester. First-year recipients are eligible for up to four years of scholarship support, while transfer students are eligible for up to two years.

With the scholarship awards, the grant’s overseers are planning a full complement of activities and support designed to both create a sense of camaraderie among the cohort and ensure that the individual scholarship recipients are able to persist in their education and complete their degree. A central component of that system is a faculty and peer mentorship program centered on diversity, equity and inclusion and mental health training. Also included are networking opportunities with Rockhurst’s alumni and other specially designed campus events.

“The SMART-STEM scholarship is meant for students who are immensely talented in the sciences and who want to be at Rockhurst University, but who have unmet financial need,” said Michael Clump, Ph.D., interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Rockhurst. “This program is designed to not only allow them to afford a high-quality college education, but to help them remain on-track to graduate on time, ready to pursue a career or graduate education and meet the needs of their fields.”

The grant application was developed by Rockhurst faculty in the defined subject areas —  Joanna Cielocha, Ph.D., associate professor of biology; Mayuri Gilhooly, Ph.D., assistant professor of physics; Ryan Elsenpeter, Ph.D., associate professor of biology; and Michael Marvin, Ph.D., associate professor of chemistry — recognizing an ongoing need to make the path to a degree in the sciences accessible for students identified as low-income. They aim to use the opportunity to also study the impact of the cohort-based model on retention rates and share insights gained through scholarly presentations and publications.

“We are excited to offer this opportunity and for the possibility of gaining data or knowledge that will benefit Rockhurst students as well as serve as a model for institutions and students elsewhere,” Marvin said.

Learn more about the SMART-STEM scholarship here.