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Cal State Northridge was awarded a five-year, $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to increase the number of underrepresented students studying science, technology, the arts and other disciplines, the university announced Tuesday.
The grant will support a collaborative effort between CSUN, Los Angeles Pierce College in Woodland Hills and College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita, according to the university.
“Our goals are quite simple, but impactful,” CSUN electrical and computer engineering professor S.K. Ramesh said. “We hope to increase enrollment, improve academic performance — including retention and graduation rates — and reduce equity gaps. To that end, the project will expand and enhance curriculum, research fellowships and culturally-responsive, work-based learning experiences in in-demand industry sectors for our students.”
The new program is patterned after an existing effort that began in 2011 to recruit and support students in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, providing participating students with faculty and peer mentors, tutors, field trips, workshops, career opportunities and travel grants. The new effort targets students in STEM fields, along with the arts and health sciences in an effort to “close equity gaps,” officials said.
Ramesh said he anticipates the new effort to “positively impact approximately 6,000 students at CSUN and our partner community colleges over the five-year duration of the grant at an average cost of less than $500 per student.”
The program will include support for community college students before and after they transfer to CSUN, along with summer workshops, internships, career advisement, mentors, research opportunities and research symposiums.
