It’s a busy week for CNMS Advising, starting off with our first Virtual Open House of the summer for sophomore students. CNMS Advisors will be available to answer your questions today, July 18, from 12:00 - 1:00 pm. We can answer questions about:

• Academic planning
• Using your summer to get ahead
• Finding internships and research opportunities
• Summer classes
• Academic resources
• And more!

You can join the Open House here - we hope to see you there!

Later this week, CNMS Advising will also host our second Success Workshop of the summer, Meet Your Major. If you’re unsure what life science major to pursue or want to learn about cleaning up your academic record, tune in this Wednesday, July 20 at 12pm. You can join the workshop here.

Greetings!

My name is Allison French and I am a PhD Candidate in the Applied Developmental Psychology program at UMBC. As part of my dissertation research, my faculty mentor, Dr. Shuyan Sun, and I are interested in learning more about the experiences of undergraduate STEM students and their perceptions of institutional support and sense of belonging. We are inviting you to participate in our study. 

You will be asked to complete an online Qualtrics survey that will take approximately 10-15 minutes. The survey includes questions about your perceptions of support from faculty, staff, advisors, and other personnel at UMBC, your sense of belonging in STEM, and some demographic information. Following the survey, you will be asked if you would like to participate in a 90-minute virtual focus group, where you will talk with a small group of other participants about your experiences with institutional support and sense of belonging. 

To participate in this study, you must be in at least your junior year of college (Including transfer students who have at least 60 credit hours and have been at UMBC for at least one academic year). You must also identify as a STEM major (for example, Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics, & Psychology BS). 

If you complete the survey and focus group, you will be given a $15 Gift Card in exchange for your time. 

If you are interested in participating, please click on the following survey link: https://umbc.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_d509xHLXSevsUoC

If you have any questions, please let me know at afrench2@umbc.edu. 

Thanks, 

Allison French