Although Project SMART Grad is no longer recruiting students, the program still exists for those students selected prior to June 2003 and currently enrolled at CSUB.
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What is Project SMART Grad? Being funded by the Office of Naval Research, are there any ties to the Navy? What kind of scholarship is given to students? You mentioned support activities. Besides the financial support, what does the program consist of? What Majors are Supported? Where are you located? Project SMART Grad is a math and science scholarship program funded by the Office of Naval Research and sponsored by CSUB. PSG was funded in 1999 with a $1.3 million grant and has since recruited 30 students to CSUB and is currently recruiting another cohort of 15 to begin school in the fall. Being funded by the Office of Naval Research, are there any ties to the Navy? No. ONR has found (as well as others) that there is a great need for scientists in our country. They’ve funded this program in hopes to increase the number of students majoring in the sciences and continuing their studies in graduate school. Other than funding, there are no ties to the navy – students are not required to serve after graduation. What kind of scholarship is given to students? The program is responsible for recruiting and selecting 15 new students each year. The scholarship these students receive is approximately $17,500. This includes 4-years paid tuition and CSUB fees, 4-years book money ($500 per year), and 4-years quarterly stipend ($500). Students receive just about $4,500 a year. This does not include, of course, all of the extras they receive for being a participant, such as the many field trips to research sites and other points of interest, the extra courses offered specifically for them, the quarterly socials, the advising and mentoring component, one-on-one research opportunities with a faculty member, and the various other types of support the program offers. At least 75% of the money we receive goes directly to the students. The rest of the money is used for recruiting and administration of the program. You mentioned support activities. Besides the financial support, what does the program consist of? The program begins for students with a summer component
that is used to familiarize students with the other participants, CSUB, and the
faculty they will be working with. Everyone
takes a 4-week math course (in conjunction with Alliance for Minority
Participation [AMP]) and another 4 weeks with a different science topic every
week. These courses are not only
utilized to help acclimate students to the level of work expected and the pace
of the CSUB quarter system, but to help identify students’ strengths and match
them with a faculty advisor. The students begin their fall quarter at CSUB with a head
start in advising, familiarity with campus, and familiarity with faculty.
We also work in conjunction with the Hawk Honors Program – participants
are also Honors students. The
Honors program provides similar support with additional advisors and a cohort of
students taking honors-designated general education courses. For the following summers, students are encouraged to find
research experiences in or out of town, with either faculty or research
organizations. By the end of their
junior year, students should have an independent research project that they will
complete on their own with support from a faculty sponsor.
The research is a key component in Project SMART Grad because of its role
in graduate education. During the following academic years, students will attend workshops, meetings, and conferences in order to further prepare them for graduate school. We offer field trips to sites of interest (JPL, Edwards AFB, China Lake NAWS, Aquariums, etc.) and potential graduate universities. We’re looking for students to major in the natural sciences and mathematics. For instance, participants major in biology, chemistry, computer science, geology, mathematics, physics, and research psychology/neuroscience. Due to the nature of the program and the goals we have, we do not support students in the nursing program or students who want to be practicing physicians. I have to emphasize that we support students interested in doing research in these areas. We do our best in recruiting students with this goal in mind, and we try to explain this during our selection process. Another question surrounding students’
majors that arises often is that of engineering.
Since CSUB does not offer a full engineering major, we are unable to fund
students majoring in engineering; however, we do accept students with this
interest. We will sponsor those
interested in pursuing engineering by encouraging them to study engineering at a
graduate level after receiving their bachelor’s degree in a related science
such as physics, mathematics, or chemistry.
In DDH D108, at 9001 Stockdale Hwy Bakersfield, CA 93311. Here is the on-campus map.
Copyright 2002 Project SMART Grad DDH D108
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