Dive Brief:
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute has awarded $60 million in grants to 37 universities to improve how STEM subjects are taught in an effort to retain undergraduate students in related majors.
- Each school will receive a five-year grant between $1.2 million and $2.4 million, selected in a peer review process that included 170 applicants.
- According to HHMI, 60% of students who enter college with the intention of majoring in a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics field fail to earn a degree in that major.
Dive Insight:
HHMI says one problem with STEM education is that universities offer introductory science courses that aren’t engaging, which leads many students to drop science majors in their first two years of college. The institute wants to focus on improving science teaching with empirically validated practices, improving early opportunities for students to engage in research, and encouraging all students to keep taking science classes because they can enter science fields through varied paths.
