Sloan Foundation Scholarship Program: Mentoring Undergraduates toward Doctoral Degrees

In the last decade rapid advances and complex nature of new and improved technologies and fierce competition are demanding a more profound expertise at all professional levels in Chemical Engineering related industries. Graduate programs are an attractive option to fill this need. This and other factors led the chemical engineering department at the University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez campus to implement several programs and initiatives in order to encourage students to pursue doctoral degrees. A key component of this strategy is the Sloan Foundation Undergraduate Scholarship Program. During the first three years a significant increase (from 2 to 10% of the graduating BS class) resulted in those continuing to graduate school. The main components of the program are mentoring, undergraduate research, summer internships, and graduate school orientation seminars.