More undergraduate students at Portland State University (PSU) will have the opportunity to pursue doctoral degrees, with funding from the U.S. Department of Education's McNair Scholars Program. In each of four years, PSU will receive $231,000 during which it will also contribute $528,968, which underwrites McNair Scholars' expenses for curriculum, research, an internship stipend and travel.
Known as McNair Scholars, students who are the first in their families to attend college, who are financially disadvantaged, or are members of under-represented groups are introduced to academic research and learn strategies for terminal degree attainment. PSU expects to recruit 26 students from across all its academic schools and colleges into the McNair Scholars Program this fall. The cohort begins academic and skills-building seminars and workshops in spring term. During summer, students conduct original research, receiving guidance from academic mentors.
Past research projects range from investigating the incidence of HIV/AIDS in the Hispanic community, and documenting the missing women in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, to developing an inexpensive measurement for nitrogen dioxide, and studying volunteer motivation.
"Before you can make a dream come true, you must first have one," said Challenger Space Shuttle astronaut Dr. Ronald E. McNair, for whom the post-baccalaureate achievement program is named. The U.S. Department of Education established it in 1986.
Portland State University serves as a center of opportunity for about 25,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Located in Portland, Oregon, one of the nation's most livable cities, the University's innovative approach to education combines academic rigor in the classroom with field-based experiences through internships and classroom projects with community partners. PSU's motto, "Let Knowledge Serve the City," inspires the teaching and research of an accomplished faculty whose work and students span the globe.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (#07-121)
Source: Shawn Smallman (503-725-9010)
PSU Academic Affairs
