STC Receives Rare NSF Grant

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STC Receives Rare NSF Grant

STC NSF Grant
South Texas College is the recipient of a significant grant directly from the National Science Foundation to support students in STEM fields.

The grant of $649,369 is part of NSF’s Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (S-STEM) grant. It provides scholarships to two cohorts of 20 undergraduate students pursuing various associate degrees. These include Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics and Physics.

The funding period for the grant is from Jan. 1 2020 to Dec. 31, 2024.

“The project aims to increase student persistence, retention, transfer and graduation in STEM fields by linking scholarships with structured student professional development activities,” said Dr. Virginia Champion, director of Resource Development, Management and Compliance. “Resources available to students will include faculty mentoring, tutoring, undergraduate research experiences, internships, and participation in discipline-specific conferences.”
Assistance for this grant came from the combined efforts from STC’s Department of Resource Development, Management and Compliance and the college’s Division for Math, Science and Bachelor programs. Both provided professional development for faculty as well as for grant development officers. Officers focused on developing strong proposals for the NSF grants.
Dr. Ali Esmaeil. is the dean of STC’s Math, Science, and Bachelor Programs. He said the division benefited from training conducted by the college’s Grant Training Center. Specifically, it came from the Designing Winning National Science Foundation Proposals in 2018.

“The grant will foster student success by providing educational opportunities that enable a seamless transfer to advanced degrees,” Dr. Esmaeili said. “It will provide an effective support structure that will promote persistence, educational attainment, academic achievement, as well as personal and professional growth.”

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