S-POWER

S-POWER: Student Pathways Opening World Energy Resources

In 2016, Northeastern University was awarded an NSF Grant (#1564653), S-POWER, to tackle the low persistence rate of underrepresented minority (URM) transfer students to bachelor degree granting institutions in STEM fields. As part of this grant, the Center for STEM Education implemented an inno­v­a­tive schol­ar­ship, support, and men­toring pro­gram at Northeastern that sup­ported the participating col­lege transfer stu­dents from under­rep­re­sented back­grounds who were studying and doing research in energy. Partnering with five schools, Clark Atlanta University (GA), Hampton University (VA), MassBay Community College (MA), Middlesex Community College (MA), and Northern Essex Community College (MA), over 200 students participated in the S-POWER program, of which 52 transferred to Northeastern University to complete their bachelors and/or masters degrees. 95% (74/78) of all Northeastern S-POWER students (and 48/52 or 92% of transfer students to NEU) graduated with a STEM major and successfully completed the S-POWER program.

Video Overviews of S-POWER:
Video 1 (2018) | Video 2 (2022)

With the NSF grant concluding in August 2023, Northeastern University decided in Spring 2021 to institutionalize the S-POWER program and grant ~10 new S-POWER scholarships each year to URM and transfer students, providing monetary support each semester for students on their path to graduation. Information on the original NSF-supported S-POWER students can be found on the S-POWER Grant Website (no longer being maintained). Information on the institutionalized S-POWER students can be found in the table below.

Institutionalized S-POWER Scholars

S-POWER - NSF Grant Students @ NEU

Note: If no ✔, student did not complete the program (changing colleges, transferring, academic dismissal, or other reasons).