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2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Four Years of Progress: Strengthening the Engineering Graduate Pipeline through the S-STEM Program at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, Award Number 2130403

Presented at NSF Grantees Poster Session I

The UMass Lowell S-STEM program (NSF Award #2130403) supports high-achieving, low-income engineering students who are interested in graduate schools. The program offers scholarships, professional development, and mentoring for students from the last two years of their bachelor’s degrees to the completion of a masters degree or qualifying exam as part of a doctoral program. This paper presents a four-year evaluation update across three cohorts using surveys and meeting evaluations. Results show increased student preparedness for graduate school, improved knowledge of application processes and academic pathways, and greater confidence in pursuing advanced degrees. Students indicated increases in understanding graduate school funding, application steps, and faculty career pathways, along with increased intention to pursue doctoral studies. Qualitative findings emphasize the value of structured mentoring and reflective activities in supporting identity development and goal setting. Program refinements included relational recruitment efforts and expanded professional development workshops.

Authors

Dr. Yanfen Li http://orcid.org/https://0000-0002-9465-7147 University of Massachusetts Lowell [biography]

Dr. Yanfen Li is an Assistant Professor in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. She received her Ph.D. in Bioengineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign in 2018. Dr. Li has extensive experience in engineering education focusing on recruitment and retention of underrepresented and under resourced students and engineering pedagogy. Her work spans the areas of curriculum instruction and design, program design and evaluation, and the first-year college experience.
Shanna Rose Thompson University of Massachusetts Lowell
Haenah Kim University of Massachusetts Lowell [biography]

Haenah Kim is a Chemical Engineering PhD student at UMass Lowell. They received their BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign. Prior to pursuing their PhD, Haenah worked as a process development engineer in LED whole wafer development. They hope to make an impact in the future both as an engineer solving biological problems and as a teacher raising the next engineers.
Phitsamay S Uy University of Massachusetts Lowell
Dr. Hsien-Yuan Hsu http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2155-2093 University of Massachusetts Lowell [biography]

Dr. Hsien-Yuan Hsu is an Assistant Professor in Research and Evaluation in the College of Education at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Dr. Hsu received his PhD in Educational Psychology from Texas A&M University and has a background of statistics

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 21, 2026, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 24, 2026

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