STEM Education Innovation Programs
Submit a Program Description » The goal of this database is to serve as a searchable collection of effective practices and programs that support improving undergraduate STEM education. Use the text search and the boxes at the right to narrow the collection based on particular aspects that you are interested in.
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Activity Types
Program Components
Target Audience
- College/University Staff 11 matches
- English Language Learners 4 matches
- First Generation College Students 18 matches
- First-year College Students 17 matches
- Graduate Students 10 matches
- In-Service K12 Teachers 5 matches
- Institution Administration 15 matches
- K12 Students 6 matches
- Non-tenure Track Faculty 16 matches
- Post-doctoral Fellows 4 matches
- Pre-Service K12 Teachers 5 matches
- Teaching/Learning Assistants 6 matches
- Tenured/Tenure-track Faculty 23 matches
- Transfer Students 9 matches
- Undergraduate Majors 24 matches
- Undergraduate Non-Majors 15 matches
- Underrepresented Minority Students 20 matches
Point of Intervention
Results 1 - 10 of 42 matches
Pathways to Career Success: A STEM Career Mentorship Program
Jeffrey Jones
The Pathways to Engineering Success Program focuses on guiding undergraduate STEM students toward thriving careers in chosen fields. This mentorship initiative pairs students with experienced professionals to provide practical insights, career guidance, and leadership development. Through hands-on learning, resume coaching, and exposure to real-world challenges, the program equips participants with the tools and confidence to excel in specialized engineering fields, while promoting diversity and inclusivity in STEM careers.
Program Components: Professional Development:Advising and Mentoring, Institutional Systems:Strategic Planning, Interdepartmental Collaboration, Supporting Students:Bridge Program, Mentoring Program, Quantitative Skills, Professional Preparation
Target Audience: First-year College Students, Undergraduate Non-Majors, Graduate Students, First Generation College Students
Point of Intervention: Major/Department
CCHF Chemistry Summer Undergraduate Research Program (CSURP)
Travis York, APLU
CSURP is a program for undergraduate students, majoring in chemistry or chemical engineering, interested in conducting supervised summer research. The program is supported by the Center for Selective C-H Functionalization (CCHF), which is a network of 23 academic and industrial research laboratories at 15 partner institutions throughout the country. The CCHF is one of eight National Science Foundation (NSF) funded Centers for Chemical Innovation.
Target Audience: Underrepresented Minority Students, Undergraduate Majors, First Generation College Students
Point of Intervention: Major/Department
Engineering Career Awareness Program (ECAP)
Travis York, APLU
Target Audience: K12 Students, Underrepresented Minority Students, First-year College Students, Undergraduate Non-Majors, First Generation College Students
Point of Intervention: College/School
Institution Type: Doctorate-granting Universities:Highest Research Activity
Pre-Calculus and Calculus 1 Readiness Workshops
Tom Cheatham, Middle Tennessee State University
Students with gaps in their mathematics background are at risk of not succeeding in their upcoming math class. We have begun to do 3-day intensive math workshops the week before the students starts the class to help students fill some of the gaps that may prevent them from succeeding in the course. These workshops have proven to be an inexpensive way to help at-risk students succeed. Students who have previously taken the course, those with poor math ACT scores, students who have not taken math in several years, and others are invited to participate for free. They get to know other students who are in the same boat as they are in and a professor (6 hours per day for 3 days). They fill some gaps and learn that you can study math for a long period of time without dying. Data from the first few semesters is promising.
Program Components: Supporting Students:Bridge Program, Bootcamp, Student Engagement, Academic Support
Target Audience: Underrepresented Minority Students, English Language Learners, Undergraduate Non-Majors, Undergraduate Majors, First Generation College Students
Point of Intervention: Major/Department
Institution Type: Doctorate-granting Universities:Moderate Research Activity
Science Education Initiative
Stephanie Chasteen, University of Colorado Boulder
Science Education Initiative (SEI) was a transformative initiative aimed at changing STEM teaching practices in university settings. The SEI was successfully implemented in two institutions (University of Colorado Boulder and The University of British Columbia) over a period of 10 years. The SEI centered on department-based Discipline-Based Education Specialists (DBESs), disciplinary experts with training in the science of teaching and learning who serve as catalysts of change within departments. The two SEIs have influenced the teaching of hundreds of faculty and the learning of tens of thousands of students per year by promoting the use of evidence-based teaching practices in STEM. These teaching practices are informed by research on teaching and learning, and often include some element of active learning. The lessons learned from the SEI are included in the Science Education Initiative Handbook, linked in this listing.
Target Audience: Tenured/Tenure-track Faculty, Undergraduate Non-Majors, Undergraduate Majors, Post-doctoral Fellows
Point of Intervention: Major/Department
Institution Type: Doctorate-granting Universities:Highest Research Activity
College of Computing and Informatics (CCI) Business Partners
Maryalicia Johnson, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
UNC Charlotte has the largest number of IT students in the Carolina's and one of the largest in the nation through the College of Computing and Informatics (CCI). Currently, the CCI Business Partners program has nearly 50 companies that work hand-in-hand with the College to provide career prep and workforce readiness to the students. Students work with the Business Partner companies/employers to practice professional development skills, and the result is a robust IT talent pipeline to support the economic development of the whole region.
Program Components: Professional Development:Advising and Mentoring, Diversity/Inclusion, Curriculum Development, Institutional Systems:Degree Program Development, Supporting Students:Mentoring Program, Student Engagement, Scholarships, Grants, Workstudy, Internships, Outreach:Informal Education, Marketing Campaign, Public Outreach
Target Audience: Underrepresented Minority Students, Undergraduate Non-Majors, Undergraduate Majors, Transfer Students, Graduate Students, First Generation College Students
Point of Intervention: College/School
Institution Type: Doctorate-granting Universities:Higher Research Activity
UC Davis Bridge to the Doctorate Program
Travis York, APLU
The UC Davis Bridge to the Doctorate program is funded by the National Science Foundation's Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP). The LSAMP program assists universities and colleges in their efforts to significantly increase the numbers of students matriculating into and successfully completing high quality degree programs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines in order to diversify the STEM workforce. Particular emphasis is placed on transforming STEM education through innovative, evidence-based recruitment and retention strategies, and relevant educational experiences in support of racial and ethnic groups historically underrepresented in STEM disciplines: African Americans, Hispanic Americans, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Native Pacific Islanders.
Program Components: Supporting Students:Mentoring Program, Tutoring, Learning Communities, Academic Support, Scholarships, Grants, Workstudy, Outreach:Public Outreach
Target Audience: Underrepresented Minority Students, Undergraduate Majors, Graduate Students, First Generation College Students
Point of Intervention: Major/Department
Water Network for Team STEM (WaNTS)
Travis York, APLU
Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL), working with multiple partner agencies in the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) and in Pohnpei (PNI) State of the Federated States of Micronesia, two rural and remote jurisdictions of the U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPI), proposes a two-year Design and Development Launch Pilot, Water Network for Team STEM, (WaNTS). WaNTS will nurture greater participation of Indigenous Pacific Islanders in STEM fields, facilitated by a collective impact model that employs the locally meaningful topic of clean drinking water as a vehicle for both K–12 engagement and broader community organization and action. Intergenerational and cross-jurisdiction networking will meld Western STEM with local ecological knowledge, empowering Inclusive Informal Science Learning Teams (IISLTs), Advisory Groups, and multiple, local, school-based Water Quality Management Teams (WQMTs), impacting thousands of residents. A repository of locally applicable educational materials will be created, maintained, and disseminated.
Program Components: Supporting Students:Learning Communities
Target Audience: K12 Students, Underrepresented Minority Students, First-year College Students, Undergraduate Non-Majors, Undergraduate Majors, Transfer Students, First Generation College Students
Point of Intervention: Multiple Institutions
Learning Assistant Program
Jillana Finnegan, Boise State University
The Learning Assistant (LA) program at Boise State University matches peer leaders with a specific STEM course and instructor to support both the faculty and students. The Learning Assistant supports faculty in implementing active learning strategies in class and facilitates peer study groups outside of class. Our program focuses on recruiting, selecting, and training peer leaders for exceptional communication and facilitation skills.
Target Audience: Teaching/Learning Assistants
Point of Intervention: Course
Institution Type: Doctorate-granting Universities:Moderate Research Activity
UG Major for the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology
Melissa Michael, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Development of a broad-based, undergraduate biology major that allowed students more freedom to design their own path through the biological content.
Target Audience: Tenured/Tenure-track Faculty, Undergraduate Majors
Point of Intervention: College/School
Institution Type: Doctorate-granting Universities:Highest Research Activity

