In 2015, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation awarded a major grant to create a “University Center of Exemplary Mentoring” (UCEM) at MIT. This Sloan grant enables the center to focus on the recruitment, retention, and academic success of underrepresented minority doctoral students in four departments in the School of Engineering: Biological Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and Mechanical Engineering.
The MIT UCEM carries out strategic and customized recruitment strategies tailored to the four participating departments, as well as a structured program that addresses key barriers to retention and educational success consisting of academic support, mentoring, and personal and professional development opportunities.
This grant, administered by Leslie Kolodziejski, Professor of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, and the UCEM Program Coordinator in the Office of Graduate Education (OGE), supports underrepresented doctoral students in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields.
Supporting the goals of UCEM, a team of faculty from the four participating departments serve as its coordinating committee: Leslie Kolodziejski, principal investigator; Rohan Abeyaratne, professor and graduate officer of mechanical engineering; Kristala Prather, professor of chemical engineering; and Mark Bathe, professor and graduate officer of biological engineering — as well as the OGE UCEM Program Coordinator. In addition, the team leverages Institute-wide efforts focused on community, equity, inclusion, and diversity through the Institute Community and Equity Office, as well as through Senior Associate Dean for Graduate Education Blanche Staton.
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Minority PhD Program
The goal of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Minority PhD Program is to diversify the U.S. Ph.D. degree-holding workforce through the support of university-based efforts to improve the recruitment, retention, and graduation of underrepresented minority doctoral students in STEM fields.
More information can be found on their website here.
Application Process
MIT UCEM departments nominate incoming and current graduate students for the scholarship.
Find more information on the UCEM site.
