The national need for a robust science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce is significant for continued global growth and development. However, within the STEM workforce there are groups that are consistently underrepresented. Therefore, programs to bolster career interest in STEM and improve the deficits are conducted to…

While quantitative research has revealed that undergraduate research experiences are closing graduate school matriculation gaps for underrepresented students, little is known about how they are doing this. This study explores this through two in-depth interviews with 12 students who attended a National Science Foundation Research Experiences for…

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to explore the impact of informal STEM education on underrepresented middle school girls. The study took place within the context of the EUREKA! summer program, a collaboration between Drexel University's Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering and Girls Inc. of Philadelphia and…

Underrepresentation in engineering disciplines remains a significant issue in higher education and the workforce. This paper presents a quantitative analysis comparing the academic success of participants in an engineering-focused Summer Bridge Program (SBP) to non-participants with similar characteristics. The study evaluates first-year…

This study explored the Central Academy Summer Bridge Program and provides information for future researchers seeking different perspectives on how an academic support unit can impact underrepresented students' academic progression and university retention anchored by a theoretical framework incorporating transition, self-efficacy, motivation and…

The federal government and many individual organizations have invested in programs to support diversity in the STEM pipeline, including STEM summer programs for high school students, but there is little rigorous evidence of their efficacy. We fielded a randomized controlled trial to study a suite of such programs targeted to underrepresented high…

A sense of belongingness in the underrepresented minorities (URM) collegiate experience requires that the student feel the university provides a safe and welcoming environment. The purpose of this study is to explore the sense of belongingness that contributes to URM's perceptions while participating in the summer programs at Kansas State…

Benefits of summer bridge and early arrival experiences include the academic and social integration of incoming first-year students into their chosen institutions. The unprecedented nature of the COVID-19 pandemic created opportunities to re-imagine delivery of activities and engagement of incoming first-year students in summer bridge and early…

Shortage of highly-skilled STEM workers, lack of critical technical skills, and persistence of underrepresentation are key problems for our nation's future. The Arkansas Summer Research Institute (ASRI) incorporates novel approaches to broaden participation in STEM, research, and data analytics, especially among URM students (over 50% of ASRI…

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) aims to increase diversity in research and health-related careers. The SURP provides underrepresented minority (URM) and disadvantaged students with research, mentoring, and networking experiences; real-life surgical observations; and simulated…

Minoritized communities, including Black and African American, Hispanic and Indigenous populations have remained historically underrepresented in STEM careers due to persistent challenges in the STEM pipeline. The STEM pipeline has struggled to retain minoritized students in their journeys to pursue STEM degrees and careers due to systemic racism,…

Challenges related to gifted education in rural schools have been well-documented and include limited curricular opportunities and resources; inequitable gifted identification processes; the pervasive exclusion of students of color, multilingual learners (MLs), economically disadvantaged students, and students with disabilities in gifted…

Multicultural education invites teachers to support students in critiquing the foundations of a given discipline, with the aim of reimagining that discipline and the purposes it serves. In this paper, we present a series of cases in which high school physics teachers who are enrolled in a summer professional development course expressed vexation…

Women and racially and ethnically minoritized populations are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Out-of-school time programs like summer camps can provide positive science experiences that may increase self-efficacy and awareness of STEM opportunities. Such programs often use the same high-impact…

We report a program for a summer science academy in chemistry, a section of the Chicago Academic Achievement Program (CAAP) at the University of Chicago, as a gateway to STEM for incoming first-generation students and other underrepresented student groups. Our program emphasized diversity in classrooms, students' psychological safety and a sense…