UMBC’s Meyerhoff Scholars Program has been lauded as a national model for supporting diverse students in STEM fields. Other institutions across the United States have begun to ask if UMBC’s approach could work for them. A new paper published in Science answers that question with a resounding “yes.”

Since its inception in 1989, UMBC’s Meyerhoff Scholars Program has graduated 739 students with undergraduate degrees in science and engineering, with 76 percent continuing on to graduate or professional programs in STEM. Meyerhoff alumni have earned 300 Ph.D. degrees, 130 M.D. degrees, 54 M.D.-Ph.D. degrees, and 253 master’s degrees to date, and hundreds more are currently pursuing graduate degrees.

Culture shift

While these high achieving, research-focused students are more likely than the average student to go on to a graduate degree, research has shown that their UMBC experience has had a major impact on their trajectories. Highly qualified students who were offered admission to the program but opted to attend other universities were half as likely to graduate with a STEM undergraduate degree and about five times less likely to pursue a graduate degree in STEM than those who accepted the offer to join the Meyerhoff Scholars Program.

The program has also resulted in a culture shift that supports the success of underrepresented students in STEM who are not Meyerhoff Scholars, and has informed the creation of similar scholars programs at UMBC focused on other fields.

With all these positive results, the major question became: Is the Meyerhoff Scholars Program inherently unique to UMBC, with its charismatic African American president, status as a historically diverse institution that has welcomed students of all races from its founding, and location in a region rich in diversity? Or could similar programs be implemented at very different institutions with similar success?

Shared commitment

The new paper in Science reveals, for the first time, findings from the first four years of a five-year initiative to adapt the Meyerhoff Scholars Program at Pennsylvania State University at University Park and at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

While strikingly different in some ways, these three institutions now share a commitment to all components of Meyerhoff-style programs. These include intensive advising, immersive transition activities the summer before the students’ first semester of college, institutional leadership that makes the program a priority, training for faculty and staff, and other components.

Findings from Penn State’s Millennium Scholars program and UNC’s Chancellor’s Science Scholars program show exciting success at an accelerated pace, with students achieving the project’s goals at a level on par with the success of recent Meyerhoff cohorts. For example, retention in STEM among the Penn State and UNC cohorts was similar to that of current Meyerhoff Scholars. Additionally, the average GPAs and four-year graduation rates of the first Penn State and UNC cohorts exceeded that of the first four Meyerhoff cohorts, in the early 1990s. These findings are especially encouraging, because the locations, historical leadership, and student bodies at these institutions look very different than they do at UMBC.

Findings also suggest benefits for students of all backgrounds—including, but not limited to, the 65 to 80 percent of program participants who are from underrepresented groups in STEM. At all three institutions, students in the program had higher GPAs and were more likely to stay in STEM majors than classmates who did not participate in the program, regardless of their race, ethnicity, or gender.

Laying the groundwork

“These findings confirm that Meyerhoff-like programs and student outcomes can be achieved elsewhere, even at institutions very different from UMBC,” says Michael Summers, Robert E. Meyerhoff Chair for Excellence in Research and Mentoring and Distinguished University Professor at UMBC.

Based on the promise of this adaptation, other universities have begun exploring Meyerhoff-like programs, with the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative recently announcing a massive replication effort in University of California system. “It is my hope that this initial effort has laid the groundwork for partnership expansion with an even broader range of institutions,” Summers says.  

With the impressive results just published in Science, Summers notes, “The high level of success achieved at UNC Chapel Hill and Penn State should now show all institutions that inclusive excellence is an achievable priority, regardless of the institution’s size, location, and history. Success was dependent on the willingness of institutions to partner together and learn from each other.”

Learn more about the Meyerhoff Scholars Program.

Banner image: Eudorah Vital ’18, a Meyerhoff Scholar and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Scholar and the 2018 UMBC valedictorian, hugs President Hrabowski after giving her remarks at commencement. All photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Like what you saw at URCAD?  Become an undergraduate researcher and present next year!

Some info on the URA award:

What constitutes a competitive student application?
The application should describe a project that is valuable and feasible. The student should demonstrate appropriate base-line knowledge of the subject. The committee looks favorably on situations where the student has completed a literature review and demonstrates some mastery of the techniques to be applied. The URA application form provides sample responses  to guide students in accordance with the review committee’s expectations.

When is the deadline for submitting the URA Application?
May 1, 2019

Are interdisciplinary proposals accepted?
Yes, interdisciplinary work is encouraged. Students with interdisciplinary proposals are encouraged to have a mentor in each key discipline. Students may specify with which discipline their proposal should be evaluated, or ask that it be evaluated, by two or more discipline-specific sub groups.

How can I see the application questions before going online to fill out the form?
You can prepare your answers by previewing the questions here.

How can I apply online? 
Forms are available on-line in here.

How can students gain ideas for projects, see samples of abstracts, and receive guidance in preparing their proposals?
Students should pick topics for which they have a passion. A review of the abstracts of work completed by prior recipients may be helpful.

Can students submit team projects?
Yes. The maximum stipend for any single project is $1,500, but there is precedent for teams of two, three, or four students working collaboratively. The project payment must be provided in the name of only one student.

Can students receive funding retroactively for research they have already conducted?
No, although it is possible for students to receive funding to continue research. It is also intended that the research be conducted in conjunction with UMBC-sponsored programs and with the mentorship of UMBC faculty.

Are all UMBC undergraduates eligible to apply?
Because awards are made in April, May’s graduates are not eligible. Students planning to graduate in August or December should demonstrate in the proposal that their work can be completed before their graduation.

Can the same faculty mentor submit a letter of recommendation for more than one student’s proposal?
Yes. In these cases we ask the faculty mentor to submit a confidential letter to the URA committee indicating a ranking of his or her recommendations. This is not to say that only one student per faculty mentor will be funded, but the URA committee values the faculty member’s rankings if and when the members must decide between two projects.

Are the awards based on merit or on financial need?
The awards are primarily merit-based. It is, however, permissible for the faculty letter of recommendation to additionally comment on the student’s financial need.

It appears that some disciplines consistently receive a higher proportion of awards than others. What accounts for this?
Funds are awarded to the most deserving proposals, as determined by the committee. A concerted effort is made each year to encourage submissions from all disciplines. The review committee has not bound itself to any disciplinary quotas nor to awards proportionate to the distribution of the applicant pool.

What is required of URA Scholars?

• Award recipients are expected to present their research at URCAD in April
• URA Scholars will enroll in a 0-credit, no-cost PRAC through the Career Center
• Attend required workshops during the semester
• Complete required online check-in surveys
• Turn in a final report that summarizes the completed research and distribution of funds.

What is the new Entrepreneurship URA? 
ENTR URAs provide up to $1,500 to undergraduate researchers to support the development of a solution to either a technical or social problem in collaboration with a UMBC faculty mentor. These solutions can be products or services, address a social or “green” concern, or promote ideas that generate artistic value. To be eligible for an Entrepreneurship URA, you must be enrolled as a UMBC student for the duration of the work proposed. For more information, contact Vivian Armor, Director, Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship 410-455-5740, or email armor@umbc.edu.

Congratulations to Laura Simpson for successfully defending her doctoral dissertation on April 23, 2019.

Since its inception in 1989, UMBC’s Meyerhoff Scholars Program has graduated 739 students with undergraduate degrees in science and engineering, with 76 percent continuing on to graduate or professional programs in STEM. Meyerhoff alumni have earned 300 Ph.D. degrees, 130 M.D. degrees, 54 M.D.-Ph.D. degrees, and 253 master’s degrees to date, and hundreds more are currently pursuing graduate degrees.

Culture shift

While these high achieving, research-focused students are more likely than the average student to go on to a graduate degree, research has shown that their UMBC experience has had a major impact on their trajectories. Highly qualified students who were offered admission to the program but opted to attend other universities were half as likely to graduate with a STEM undergraduate degree and about five times less likely to pursue a graduate degree in STEM than those who accepted the offer to join the Meyerhoff Scholars Program.

The program has also resulted in a culture shift that supports the success of underrepresented students in STEM who are not Meyerhoff Scholars, and has informed the creation of similar scholars programs at UMBC focused on other fields.

With all these positive results, the major question became: Is the Meyerhoff Scholars Program inherently unique to UMBC, with its charismatic African American president, status as a historically diverse institution that has welcomed students of all races from its founding, and location in a region rich in diversity? Or could similar programs be implemented at very different institutions with similar success?

Shared commitment

The new paper in Science reveals, for the first time, findings from the first four years of a five-year initiative to adapt the Meyerhoff Scholars Program at Pennsylvania State University at University Park and at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

While strikingly different in some ways, these three institutions now share a commitment to all components of Meyerhoff-style programs. These include intensive advising, immersive transition activities the summer before the students’ first semester of college, institutional leadership that makes the program a priority, training for faculty and staff, and other components.

Findings from Penn State’s Millennium Scholars program and UNC’s Chancellor’s Science Scholars program show exciting success at an accelerated pace, with students achieving the project’s goals at a level on par with the success of recent Meyerhoff cohorts. For example, retention in STEM among the Penn State and UNC cohorts was similar to that of current Meyerhoff Scholars. Additionally, the average GPAs and four-year graduation rates of the first Penn State and UNC cohorts exceeded that of the first four Meyerhoff cohorts, in the early 1990s. These findings are especially encouraging, because the locations, historical leadership, and student bodies at these institutions look very different than they do at UMBC.

Findings also suggest benefits for students of all backgrounds—including, but not limited to, the 65 to 80 percent of program participants who are from underrepresented groups in STEM. At all three institutions, students in the program had higher GPAs and were more likely to stay in STEM majors than classmates who did not participate in the program, regardless of their race, ethnicity, or gender.

Laying the groundwork

“These findings confirm that Meyerhoff-like programs and student outcomes can be achieved elsewhere, even at institutions very different from UMBC,” says Michael Summers, Robert E. Meyerhoff Chair for Excellence in Research and Mentoring and Distinguished University Professor at UMBC.

Based on the promise of this adaptation, other universities have begun exploring Meyerhoff-like programs, with the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative recently announcing a massive replication effort in University of California system. “It is my hope that this initial effort has laid the groundwork for partnership expansion with an even broader range of institutions,” Summers says.  

With the impressive results just published in Science, Summers notes, “The high level of success achieved at UNC Chapel Hill and Penn State should now show all institutions that inclusive excellence is an achievable priority, regardless of the institution’s size, location, and history. Success was dependent on the willingness of institutions to partner together and learn from each other.”

Learn more about the Meyerhoff Scholars Program.

Banner image: Eudorah Vital ’18, a Meyerhoff Scholar and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Scholar and the 2018 UMBC valedictorian, hugs President Hrabowski after giving her remarks at commencement. All photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.