Strengthening the Academic Pipeline for Underrepresented Students via Early Exposure to Graduate Education

Of the 75,722 total master’s and doctoral engineering degrees awarded in 2021 in the US, only 6.90% (5,222) were awarded to underrepresented minorities (URMs) according to the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE).¹ Additionally, only 28.9% and 25.5% of the total master’s and doctoral engineering degrees, respectively, were awarded to women in 2021.¹ In order to successfully teach and mentor these student populations for future graduate engineering programs, various mentorship initiatives have been developed across numerous institutions.^2,3However, mentorship programs that target undergraduate upperclassmen (i.e., junior and senior undergraduates) might provide guidance too late to yield successful admission into graduate engineering programs.<br/> <br/>Teaching underrepresented students the unspoken expectations of graduate school early on in their undergraduate career, coupled with a mentorship program that supports these students throughout the majority of their undergraduate years, is a viable pathway that could increase students’ readiness for graduate school.<br/> <br/>Here, we discuss the implementation of the Stanford Engineering Research Introductions Organization (SERIO), whose mission is to increase inclusion, diversity, equity, and access in engineering departments across the US by teaching, mentoring, and supporting underrepresented students as early as their first year in college.⁴ By introducing early-stage undergraduate students to details regarding graduate engineering education and providing a dedicated mentorship program to support them throughout the remainder of their undergraduate career, we can measurably increase both their likelihood to pursue a graduate engineering degree and their preparedness to do so, as demonstrated by participant surveys. Additionally, we highlight both the successes and challenges regarding the activities conducted by SERIO. Lastly, we suggest future directions for peer institutions considering implementing an organization similar to SERIO in order to enhance inclusion, diversity, equity, and access in US engineering departments. Our efforts demonstrate that early-stage instruction and mentorship are effective tools towards developing talented underrepresented students for a future graduate engineering degree and will hopefully encourage more peer institutions to consider launching initiatives and organizations similar to SERIO.<br/> <br/><b>References</b><br/>1. American Society for Engineering Education. By the numbers. https://ira.asee.org/by-thenumbers/.<br/> <br/>2. M. A. Cadena, C. Amaya, D. Duan, C. A. Rico, L. García-Bayona, A. T. Blanco, Y. S. Agreda, G. J. V. Rodríguez, A. Ceja, V. G. Martinez, O. V. Goldman, R. W. Fernandez, “Insights and strategies for improving equity in graduate school admissions,” <i>Cell</i>, 186, 3529-3547, 2023.<br/> <br/>3. A. X. Chen, D. J. Lipomi, “Navigating the graduate application process through mentorship,” <i>Trends in Chemistry</i>, 5, 503-505, 2023.<br/> <br/>4. S. Fernández, C. E. Anderson, A. B. Boehm, D. N. Congreve, “Strengthening the academic pipeline for underrepresented students via early exposure to graduate education,” <i>Chem</i>, 10, 1609-1619, 2024.