Minority Degrees

08/26/2009

The University of Washington has received a grant intended to draw more minorities into technical fields. The $2.6 million award is from the National Science Foundation.

The grant will support some joint programs with other colleges in Oregon and Idaho. Together, their five year goal is to double the number of minorities who get bachelor's degrees in science, technology, engineering and math. Sheila Edwards Lange is the UW's vice president for minority affairs. She says one big challenge is to get younger students interested in studying technical subjects.

Lange: "Part of it is getting students to take the right courses early. So if a student is not on track in middle school, taking the right math courses for example, they're not going to be competitive for a four–year university."

Lange says the grant will allow university staff to work more with middle and high school students on college prep. They'll also hold workshops and bring participants to the college for overnight visits. The program is open to minorities who are underrepresented in technical fields. That includes Latinos, African–Americans, Native Americans and Pacific Islanders. Lange says only Native American applicants must show proof of their race.

Lange: "One of the things we have experienced here is more people marking that they're Native American and then not having any documentation for that. So increasingly colleges are requiring some sort of tribal documentation."

The grant will also provide scholarships and other financial support to eligible students. The UW says similar programs across the country have led to nearly 25,000 bachelor's degrees for minority students every year.

Liz Jones, KUOW News.

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