General Information

US Department of Education, Title III: HSI STEM & Articulation programs

Project Title: Enhancing diversity in STEM through Magnified Resources, Completion Support, and Career Preparation (E=MC2)

PR Award Number: P031C210155
Unit ID: 119067

Grant Summary

Monterey Peninsula College (MPC) proposes E=MC2, a comprehensive project designed and modeled on successful interventions and strategies for improving STEM degree attainment and transfer.

E=MC^2 will expand institutional capacity to enhance STEM pathways from K-12 to college and career with a focus on strengthening math aptitude and supporting integral STEM transitions.

E=MC2 will have a transformative impact beginning at the middle school level with activities to open young minds to STEM potential; moving into high school with targeted activities to prepare students for college-level STEM courses, and providing MPC students with the tools to successfully complete STEM degrees and transfer.

Grant Objectives

E=MC2 is organized into four integrated components each aligned with a measurable objective and associated activities that will ensure they are achieved.

  • Enhance diversity in the STEM professions by engaging underrepresented students in STEM programs
    • Increasethe enrollment of Hispanic and low-income students in STEM programs at MPC
  • Magnify resources for coordinating and expanding academic support and eliminating barriers that impede underrepresented student success
    • Increase the rate of successful STEM course completions among underrepresented students.
  • Completion support that empowers underrepresented students to attain STEM degrees and transfer.
    • Increase the number of UNR students earning STEM degrees
  • Career preparation to connect underrepresented students with STEM careers increased STEM completion and transfer rates.
    • Increase participation in work-based learning opportunities

Through responsible planning sensitive to the language, cultural, and socioeconomic obstacles that underrepresented students face, E=MC2 activities will result in systemic structural improvements at the college.

E=MC2 Proposed Activities

Student Opportunities:

  • STEM Bridge Academy – Incoming MPC Students
  • Field Trips
  • Guest Speakers
  • Paid STEM Internships
  • Outreach to underrepresented populations.

K-12 Student Partnership:

  • Math Circles – Summer Activity – High School/Middle School Students
  • STEM Summer Camps – High School/Middle School Students

Facilities Opportunities:

  • Modernization of Lab Equipment
  • Supplies for lab replenishment,

Professional Development Activities:

  • Conferences,
  • Faculty & Staff workshops
  • Faculty & Staff trainings

Establish/Maintain a STEM Endowment