Program To Advance STEM Grad Education, Workforce Development

A new University of Texas at Dallas initiative will provide financial, academic and career training support to low-income students pursuing master’s degrees in science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) fields.

The Advancing Innovation in Master of Science and Engineering (AIM S&E) Scholars Career Development program is designed to produce graduates who will continue their education by pursuing a PhD in a STEM area or who will enter the STEM workforce in areas of national need, such as artificial intelligence (AI), biomedical sciences and engineering.

The project is funded by a $2 million grant (2527796) from the National Science Foundation Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) program, the goal of which is to increase the number of academically talented students from low-income backgrounds who complete STEM degrees and enter the U.S. STEM workforce. The program supports student mentoring and career development, as well as research on factors that contribute to student success.

Eligible students in the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics (NSM) and the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science will be invited to apply for scholarships of up to $20,000 per year. The first scholarships are expected to be awarded for the fall 2026 term.

“Our data reflects the No. 1 reason students choose not to enroll in our NSM and Jonsson School master’s degree programs is the lack of financial support,” said Dr. Yvette E. Pearson, principal investigator on the grant and associate dean for academic affairs and strategic initiatives in NSM. “Providing up to $20,000 in scholarships per student per year will help remove a large barrier to many students.”

Each component of the project was designed with students in mind, said Pearson, who also is associate dean for effectiveness and accountability in the Jonsson School.

“We used their voices from various surveys and institutional data to understand their needs, then coupled novel components like our transdisciplinary academic-workforce mentoring pods with travel grants and emergency funds to meet those needs,” she said.

The AIM S&E mentoring pods are formed around technical or career interests. Students are paired with faculty and practitioner mentors who will help them network and connect with employers.

The program is intended for students in actuarial science, AI for biomedical sciences, bioengineering, bioinformatics and computational biology, biotechnology, computer science, data science and statistics, electrical engineering, geosciences, and mechanical engineering.

“The vision and comprehensiveness needed to achieve this S-STEM grant raise the expectations of what is possible when we pool our resources to prioritize student access and success, and faculty development,” said Dr. Stephanie G. Adams, Jonsson School dean, Lars Magnus Ericsson Chair and professor of systems engineering. “The results of this grant will help ensure that UT Dallas is doing its part to develop graduate professionals empowered to immediately contribute to the nation’s scientific competitiveness, and faculty members adeptly skilled in graduate STEM education.”

A key component of the grant will be to generate new knowledge on factors influencing enrollment and success among S-STEM-eligible master’s students.

Led by Dr. Torrie Cropps, a research scientist in NSM, and The Rucks Group, an external evaluation team, the knowledge generation component will examine the roles of faculty mentoring and institutional expectations in shaping student outcomes.

“I am excited about the opportunity to provide students with the resources they need to be successful in their master’s programs,” said Cropps, who is also a co-principal investigator on the grant. “The cohort-based learning, mentoring pods and professional development have the potential to increase retention and graduation rates, and increase our graduates’ participation in the STEM workforce.”

Other co-principal investigators on the grant are Dr. Pankaj Choudhary, professor of mathematical sciences and associate dean of graduate studies in NSM, and Dr. Benjamin Carrion Schaefer, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and assistant dean for graduate student success in the Jonsson School.

Dr. David Hyndman, dean of NSM, said the initiative aligns with UT Dallas’ strategic priorities and reflects the University’s shared commitment to expand access to STEM graduate education.

“This NSF grant empowers us to support STEM master’s students in ways that are meaningful and measurable,” said Hyndman, the Francis S. and Maurine G. Johnson Distinguished University Chair. “By joining forces with the Jonsson School and our industry partners, we will be implementing a model that reduces financial barriers while fostering mentoring, community and career readiness — all anchored in student success.”