Nearly 20 community college students who plan to transfer to the university took one of three STEM classes on campus this summer. For free.
The classes – Surveying I, Physical Properties of Matter and Principles of Cell and Molecular Biology – are paid for by a state STEM Starter Grant aimed at encouraging community college students to complete four-year degrees in science, math, engineering and health sciences, says Audrey Frater, director of the STEM Starter Academy and Pathways Center at Middlesex Community College.
The Engineering Transfer Bridge Program, created by Frater four years ago in partnership with the university, originally included just the civil engineering and physics classes. It is open to students from Middlesex who are planning to transfer or considering transferring to UMass Lowell. The students can apply to take one class if they met certain prerequisites, and they must be approved by Frater.
