Cal Poly’s statistics department has received a $447,000 federal grant to support and mentor low-income students to continue their higher education in graduate programs.
This grant was awarded by the National Science Foundation.
The grant is part of a $5 million funding investment involving multiple West Coast universities through the "Pacific Alliance for low income in Statistics and Data Science" program supported by the National Science Foundation's scholarships STEM Program.
Financial access has proven to be a barrier for many lower-income and historically underrepresented students in the field of statistics and data science, especially for those who wish to continue with graduate studies.
Pacific Alliance will provide sustained financial support, research opportunities, and mentoring to students as they transition between undergraduate and graduate education.
Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara are some of the lead institutions for the grant.
Of Cal Poly’s funding award, $360,000 is earmarked for scholarships. Students who take full advantage of the program will get up to $30,000 distributed over their junior and senior years, as well as in their first year of graduate school, or up to $10,000 per year.
The additional $87,000 awarded to Cal Poly will cover costs including the mentoring program, assessment of objectives, annual meetings, and graduate fairs for all program scholars.
Cal Poly’s statistics department is working with the financial aid office to formalize its application process and expects to provide the first scholarships beginning next fall.
