African American college students excelling in the sciences: College and postcollege outcomes in the Meyerhoff Scholars Program

TLDR

The Meyerhoff Scholars Program historically admitted only African American students until 1996, and this study focuses exclusively on that group. This paper describes and evaluates the effectiveness of the Meyerhoff Scholars Program at UMBC, which aims to increase underrepresented minority participation in graduate and professional science and engineering degrees. The Program is structured to increase minority participation in graduate and professional science and engineering degrees. Meyerhoff students achieved higher GPAs, graduation rates, and graduate school admissions than multiple comparison groups, and surveys identified community, study groups, summer bridge, financial support, staff, and research internships as key contributors to their success. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Abstract

This paper describes and assesses the effectiveness of the Meyerhoff Scholars Program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). The Program is designed to increase the number of underrepresented minorities who pursue graduate and professional degrees in science and engineering. Until 1996 the program admitted African American students exclusively, and the current study focuses only on students from that group. The Meyerhoff students have achieved higher grade point averages, graduated in science and engineering at higher rates, and gained admittance to graduate schools at higher rates than multiple current and historical comparison samples. Student survey and interview data revealed that a number of program components were viewed as being especially important contributors to students' academic success: Program Community, Study Groups, Summer Bridge Program, Financial Support, Program Staff, and Research Internships and Mentors. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 37: 629–654, 2000