MSI STEM Pathways Scholarship Program

Background

North Carolina Space Grant (NC Space Grant) is committed to building inclusive research, education and public outreach programs that serve people with unique backgrounds, circumstances, needs, perspectives and ways of thinking.

Objectives

This scholarship provides an opportunity for undergraduate students (sophomores, juniors, and seniors) to cultivate knowledge and skills that will enable them to develop research plans and/or proposals, as well as scholarship and fellowship applications relevant to NASA and STEM.

This scholarship has the following objectives:

• Provide financial support to students who demonstrate a desire to pursue a STEM-focused academic pathway that has NASA Mission Directorate applications, inclusive of commercial space, aviation/aeronautics, and/or the International Space Station (ISS).
• Expose students to STEM-related research taking place at community colleges and undergraduate colleges and universities.
• Connect students to NC Space Grant-supported students, faculty and alumni.
• Foster an understanding of NASA Mission Directorate research and introduce students to the NASA internship process.
• Expose students to STEM-based careers at NASA, research organizations and/or commercial space.
• Serve as a pathway to NASA Internships and other NC Space Grant higher education scholarships and fellowships.

Although it is not required, the intended next step for scholarship recipients would be to apply for the MSI STEM Bridge Scholarship program.

Award Details

• $3,000 scholarship per student.
• Up to 6 scholarships may be awarded.
• Period of performance is Nov. 1, 2024 – May 15, 2025.
• Awards are contingent upon receipt of NASA funding and quality of submitted proposals.

Eligibility Requirements

• The student must be a U.S. citizen. Permanent residents (i.e., green card holders) are not eligible to receive this NASA award.
• This is a competitive scholarship program for community college and non-senior undergraduate students (community college, freshmen, sophomores and juniors only) at two- and four-year institutions, who attend an accredited Minority Serving Institution (MSI), or Historically Black College or University (HBCU) identified in NASA’s Minority Serving Institutions Exchange in the State of North Carolina. A list of eligible community colleges and universities is provided below.
  • Eligible universities and colleges: Bennett College, Bladen Community College, Chowan University, Edgecombe Community College, Elizabeth City State University, Fayetteville State University, Halifax Community College, James Sprunt Community College, Johnson C. Smith University, Livingstone College, North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University, North Carolina Central University, North Carolina Wesleyan College, Robeson Community College, Saint Augustine’s University, Sampson Community College, Shaw University, the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, and Winston-Salem State University.
  • Students must remain enrolled with a full-time status throughout the duration of the award period and maintain at least a 2.8 GPA or equivalent. NC Space Grant must be informed of changes to enrollment status or GPA/equivalent.
  • If you are unclear as to whether your university/college is eligible, please send an email to the contact listed below.
• The student must be engaged in academic coursework in a STEM discipline at the time of application. Examples: astronomy, biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering, mathematics, physics, geospatial information systems, geology, meteorology, etc.
• The student must express interest in NASA, commercial space, aviation/aeronautics, and/or research taking place on the ISS, inclusive of astronaut health and earth science. The NASA Mission Directorates are as follows:
  • Aeronautics Research
  • Exploration Systems Development
  • Science
  • Space Operations
  • Space Technology
• The student must have a grade point average of at least 2.8 on a 4.0 scale.
• Students enrolled in an accredited Dual Engineering Degree program are eligible to apply.
• Allied Health Science majors (e.g., health lab tech) are not eligible for this program at this time. Art majors are not eligible for this program at this time.
• Students may receive only one (1) MSI STEM Pathways Scholarship over the course of their studies. Although it is not required, the intended next step for scholarship recipients would be to apply for the MSI STEM Bridge Scholarship program.

How to Apply (Online Application System)

Interested students must complete an online application (see link below). Please read all program guidelines including applicant eligibility and reporting requirements before submitting your application. The application must be submitted online and all information must be complete, including the letter of recommendation, or the application will not be reviewed. Please allow ample time to complete the online application.

• Apply by 5 p.m. EST, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. Late applications will not be accepted for any reason.
• A faculty member or academic advisor must submit a Letter of Recommendation to the application system no later than 5 p.m. EST, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. The faculty member or academic advisor must submit the letter to the system themselves. Freshmen or first-year community college students are allowed to have a high school educator (e.g., STEM-related teacher) or administrator (e.g., principal) submit the letter. Employers may be considered if the student is working in a job or volunteering in a STEM field (e.g., working as a tutor, at a STEM camp, etc.). Family members or friends cannot submit letters of recommendation.
• Respond to a few questions with short, 300-word essays (provided below).
• Upload a prior academic year transcript with GPA or equivalent. Freshmen or first-year community college students may submit their senior year high school transcript.
• Awards will be announced on/around, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024.

There are informational data fields required for the application in the online system (e.g., name, contact information, etc.). Please allow ample time to complete the online application.

Application Evaluation Criteria

Student applications will be evaluated based on academic merit, prior success in STEM coursework (GPA), described interest in STEM research, described interest in research related to NASA, demonstrated preparedness to engage in scholarship activities, and a letter of recommendation.

Applications will be evaluated as follows, including essay questions as part of the online application:

(Word limits – 300 per question)

MSI STEM Pathways – 100 points

Academic merit (GPA & Related STEM coursework) – 5 pts

Essay 1: What STEM-related courses/program are you studying? What interests you about them? – 25 pts

Essay 2: What makes you interested in NASA, commercial space, aviation/aeronautics, or research being conducted on the ISS (inclusive of astronaut health or earth science)? – 25 pts

Essay 3: How will this scholarship impact your academic or career pathways (beyond financial support)? (Tip: Review the scholarship objectives listed above.) – 25 pts

Essay 4: Describe any STEM-related extra-curricular activities in which you have participated (e.g., clubs, teams, camps, mentoring, jobs, internships, etc.) that may have prepared you to fulfill your scholarship requirements. – 10 pts

Letter of recommendation – 10 pts

Awardee Requirements

Awardees are required to complete the following in order to receive funding: 

Fall Semester 2024: 3 Requirements

1. Awardees are required to attend a fall semester webinar (date TBD) featuring a NASA expert(s). During the information session awardees will hear about opportunities for future NC Space Grant scholarships, fellowships and internships. 
2. Awardees are required to create a profile in NASA Gateway no later than December 15, 2024. Students shall send a screenshot via email to the NC Space Grant contact listed below by December 15, 2024 as verification.
3. Awardees are required to apply to NASA’s Fellowships and Internships program in order to experience applying for an internship with NASA. Students shall send a screenshot of their submitted application via email to the NC Space Grant contact listen below by December 15, 2024 as verification. Please note that should an internship be awarded to the student, it is not a binding commitment. If awarded, the student should discuss funding for the experience with NC Space Grant. Note: Receipt of MSI STEM Pathways Scholarship funds is not contingent upon successfully obtaining a NASA internship, since offers are dependent on the NASA selection process. Rather, NC Space Grant values the experience of applying for NASA Internships – you never know unless you try!

After awardees complete both fall semester requirements, the first installment of $1,500 of the scholarship award will be released. The anticipated date is late December 2024.

Spring Semester 2025: 3 Requirements

1. Awardees are required to conduct online research about current or planned space missions (e.g., Artemis) or research being conducted within any one of the four NASA Mission Directorates (links provided below). Students shall send an email to the NC Space Grant contact listed below with their research topic by February 28, 2025 as verification. NASA aligns its research and other activities into these Mission Directorates:
   • Aeronautics Research
   • Exploration Systems Development
   • Science
   • Space Operations
   • Space Technology
2. Awardees are required to interview a faculty member, subject matter expert, or other professional who conducts work related to your research interests, which should also be of interest to NASA. Awardees should consider identifying a mentor for future research – a mentor is a person who can support your interests, guide you, listen to your concerns, and give you advice and many other things. Students shall send an email to the NC Space Grant contact listed below with the name and title of the person who they interviewed by April 15, 2025 as verification. (Tip – Take notes since we’ll ask you about it in your final report!)
3. Awardees are required to submit a final report (approximately three pages) summarizing what they learned, a) during the NASA expert webinar, b) by researching their chosen NASA Mission Directorates, c) from the interview, and d) describing next steps along their academic pathway. The report is due to the NC Space Grant contact listed below via email no later than May 31, 2025.

After the student submits the research paper and NC Space Grant approves it, the second installment of $1,500 of the scholarship award will be released. The anticipated date is in late May 2025.

OPTIONAL (but strongly recommended!): Attend the NC Space Symposium scheduled for Friday, April 11, 2025, in Raleigh, NC. There is no registration cost for MSI STEM Pathways Scholars, however, scholars are expected to cover their own travel costs (e.g., transportation, hotel, etc.) through their scholarship funds or other funds (e.g., department funds). Scholars who wish to attend but are experiencing hardships are invited to bring this to the attention of the NC Space Grant contact listed at the bottom in advance, for confidential individual discussion as needed.

Other Requirements

• Upon selection, awardees must submit an acceptance form and provide a photo and biographical information.
• Students must set up an account in Payment Works, the online system through which payments will be processed. The student must update any changes of address, banking information, etc. over the course of the award in Payment Works.
• NASA requires awardees to create a student profile in the online NASA Gateway system to collect award and demographic information for annual NASA reporting purposes.
• Notify NC Space Grant if you drop below full-time status or there is a change in your proposed research plan.
• Update your profile in NASA Gateway and Payment Works if any of your contact information changes.
• The student must respond to academic and employment surveys requested by NC Space Grant and NASA.
• Awardees may be asked to share their experience in public forums, on social media (#ncspacegrant), in an NC Space Grant news story, in professional meetings, etc.

Virtual Information Sessions

In order to attend a virtual information session, you must register, but can do so up to the meeting time. A recording of the session will be posted, but will not available to view until a later date. These webinars are meant to share tips and tricks for submitting competitive applications.

MSI STEM Scholarship Virtual Information Session Recording

Access Password: 7C%+TBB&

Contact

Sandy Canfield, Assistant Director
srcanfie@ncsu.edu
919-515-5943