Institute for Social Science Research

The UA Graduate School’s Strategic Graduate Partnerships Initiative and Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, worked together to develop this program that partners with Stillman College, Fort Valley State University and Jackson State University to prepare undergraduate students for graduate programs, industry careers and entrepreneurial opportunities in renewable energy. The five-year project was awarded through the NSF’s Bridging Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, or EPSCoR, Communities, also known as RII-BEC.

Project goals include enhancing the competitiveness of HBCU student participants as applicants to graduate programs, preparing participants for the science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, workforce by reinforcing hands-on lab experiences that were lost during the COVID-19 pandemic and providing students with content knowledge, skills, experiences and confidence to engage in entrepreneurial pursuits in the STEM arena. Bridge program activities will take place through resident summer programs at UA as well as student exchanges between UA and Stillman students during the academic year. ISSR’s evaluation of the program focuses on how well the program meets these goals. For more information see the project website.