What specifically can a university do to boost the number of minority students who will go on to pursue graduate studies in science?

The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), offers answers. Recent studies point to a remarkable record of success at this public research university. Much of the success focuses on the university's Meyerhoff Scholars Program, which attracts promising minority students to the predominantly white school. Participants in the program, which began in 1988, are nearly twice as likely to graduate in a science, engineering or mathematics discipline as peers who decline admission to the program and enroll elsewhere. Since 1993, 234 Meyerhoff scholars have earned degrees in these disciplines, with 85 percent going on to graduate and professional programs nationwide.

The students work part time in laboratories during the school year and full time during the summer. These sustained research experiences lead to close ties with faculty mentors and, often, to publication of scientific papers. Freeman A. Hrabowski III, UMBC's president, and Michael F. Summers, an HHMI investigator and professor at the university, tell the Bulletin that the program succeeds "because the faculty and administration are committed to making the production of minority scientists a major priority."

They also maintain that "with a similar commitment, other universities can replicate many of the program's best practices and help to produce many more minority graduates in science, engineering and mathematics across the country." Hrabowski and Summers say the following components are critical to the success of the program, which is described online at www.umbc.edu/Programs/Meyerhoff/Undergrad

• Recruiting top minority students in math and science, in part by bringing potential students to the campus for a weekend to visit with faculty, staff and current undergraduates.

• Providing entering freshmen with a summer "bridge" program that includes math, science and humanities coursework; training in analytic problem solving; opportunities for group study; and social and cultural events.

• Offering comprehensive merit scholarship support and making continued support contingent on maintaining a B average in a science or engineering major.

• Fostering active faculty participation in recruiting, teaching and mentoring.

• Emphasizing the importance of outstanding academic achievement, participation in study groups, collaboration with faculty and preparation for graduate or professional school.

• Involving the students in sustained, substantive research experiences during both the school year and the summer.

• Encouraging the students to use departmental and university tutoring resources, with an emphasis on high academic achievement.

• Maintaining strong support by the university's administration.

• Providing academic advising and personal counseling.

• Linking the students with mentors from professional and academic fields in science, engineering and health.

• Encouraging a strong sense of community among the students.

• Involving the students' parents and other relatives who can be supportive.

• Soliciting public and private financial support.

The program also encourages students to talk with a variety of scientists, on and off campus, about research in order to gain as much information as possible to help in making decisions about their own research interests and career paths.

Photo: Paul Fetters

Download this story in Acrobat PDF format.
(requires Acrobat Reader)

Reprinted from the HHMI Bulletin,
May 2001, pages 28-33.
©2001 Howard Hughes Medical Institute