Biological Sciences Initiative
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute has awarded the Biological Sciences Initiative at the University of Colorado Boulder $1.5 million over five years to continue to transform science education by encouraging more real-world research experiences for undergraduates, ranging from cancer studies to screenings for new antibiotics.
The new award will allow CU-Boulder to strengthen hands-on, research-oriented teaching to students planning to major in science, technology, engineering or mathematics, popularly known as STEM, said Julie Graf, director of CU-Boulder’s Biological Sciences Initiative. CU‐Boulder is one of 37 research universities across the nation to be awarded a total of $60 million in the new round of funding announced today by HHMI, which is headquartered in Chevy Chase, Md.
Prior HHMI funding to CU‐Boulder has helped engage more than 1,600 undergraduates in research projects spearheaded by roughly 230 faculty members from 15 departments. Graf said 92 percent of those students earned undergraduate STEM degrees. In addition, 82 percent of underrepresented minority students from that pool earned undergraduate STEM degrees, and 47 percent of the total number of CU-Boulder STEM students went on to earn doctoral degrees, said Graf.