Julian scholars: Recruiting and graduating low-income, first-generation computer science majors

Abstract

Using funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), DePauw University launched a program for low-income, first-generation scholars in STEM fields - Julian Scholars. All but one of the undergraduate students began college expressing interest in medical careers, yet over half of the STEM graduates now pursue computer science graduate degrees or computing careers - an important statistic, as little research about recruiting and retaining under represented low-income, first-generation computing students exists. The program predicts a 100% graduation rate, although two of the Julian Scholars left the program to study English. Cornerstones of the program include a week-long summer research experience bridging high school and college, common classes for each cohort, mentoring, one-on-one resume and internship/research counseling, and scholarships. Rockman et al surveyed the Julian Scholars about the bridge program and additional program components to provide quantitative data and also held focus groups to collect qualitative data to augment graduation rates and post-graduation career information.