Monmouth College Awarded $1 Million NSF Grant to Expand STEM Access

By: Forgottonia Times™ Report

Monmouth College has received a nearly $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation to launch a new initiative aimed at increasing STEM degree completion among students with significant financial need.

The $999,764 award, part of the NSF’s Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) program, will fund the College’s new FLASH initiative—Focus on Learning for All with STEM as a Home. Over six years, FLASH will provide scholarships and academic support to approximately 15 Pell Grant-eligible students, including transfer students beginning in 2026.

The application for the Fall 2025 cohort opens on April 15. Eligible students must be incoming freshmen pursuing a STEM major at Monmouth, Pell Grant-eligible, and have a minimum 3.0 GPA.

Participants may receive up to $15,000 annually in scholarship aid and benefit from faculty mentorship, undergraduate research opportunities, professional development, and career support through the College’s Wackerle Center. The program aims to serve students in mathematics, computer science, biology, neuroscience, chemistry, biochemistry, physics, and engineering.

FLASH also seeks to strengthen the rural STEM pipeline through outreach to local high schools and partnerships with community colleges and employers. Students will have opportunities to engage in summer research, attend STEM conferences, and serve as STEM Ambassadors promoting science education in their communities.

In addition to student support, FLASH includes a research component that will study how mentorship and belonging influence success in STEM fields, with findings contributing to national education research.

FLASH represents Monmouth College’s ongoing investment in high-impact STEM education and its mission to expand opportunities for students across the region.