Abstract
Despite efforts to increase diversity, a glaring underrepresentation of minorities (URM) persists in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Graduate school can be a stressful step in the STEM pipeline, especially for students previously unaware of the structure and challenges of post-graduate education. To promote successful minority participation in STEM and prepare prospective students for the impending challenges of graduate school, we developed a workshop based on the mentoring and fostering of a champion-oriented mindset entitled, “The Trials and Tribulations of Graduate School: How Do You Make an Impact?”. We administered the workshop to a cohort of university undergraduates and conducted pre- and post-workshop surveys to measure students’ perceived need for instruction on specific workshop topics. The results suggest that the workshop was well received by the students and provided information that they considered helpful to help navigate the graduate school process.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.
Abbreviations
- CV
- Curriculum Vitae
- GPA
- Grade Point Average
- GRE
- Graduate Record Examinations
- IDP
- Individual Development Plan
- MARC
- Maximizing Access to Research Careers
- MSI
- Minority Serving Institution
- NIH
- National Institute of Health
- NSB
- National Science Board
- NSF
- National Science Foundation
- QE
- Qualifying Exam
- RISE
- Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement
- SROP
- Summer Research Opportunity Program
- REU
- Research Experiences for Undergraduates
- STEM
- Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
- URM
- Underrepresented Minority