Targeted to community college students in all STEM fields, the annual Summer Community College Opportunity for Research Experience (SCCORE) program supports pre-transfer community college students to serve as research assistants to university faculty mentors in their related fields. The program provides an excellent overview of the host university, including an orientation to campus resources and university life. Participating students live on campus, attend a credit-bearing class, and receive professional development training. All students present their research at a culminating SCCORE Poster Symposium and at the NM AMP Student Research Conference at New Mexico State University the subsequent fall semester.

NM AMP’s new research thematic focus is “Climate, Sustainability and/or Resilience,” which will begin in the Spring semester of 2025. This change in focus will further promote student engagement and encourage interdisciplinary research. The criteria for mentorship in SCCORE will be based on the students’ interests in research related to either climate solutions, sustainability, and/or the development of resilient systems in both the natural and build environment, such as the following categories:

• Sustainable methods and infrastructure (such as beneficial use of waste; construction using less energy or resources)
• Adaptive infrastructure (such as climate-resilient power grids; infrastructure that allows adaptation as demand changes)   
• Resilient water systems (such as water preservation; desalination; advanced water filtration)
• Resilient food systems (such as drought tolerant crops; food production using less resources)
• Healthy, resilient ecosystems and environments (such as bioremediation of contaminated soil or water; ecosystem recovery after natural or human-caused disturbance; sustainable land management; mitigation of soil erosion; plants and animal physiology and adaptation)
• Community health and vitality (such as the study of post-fire lung cancer)
• Climate studies (such as impact on human health, ecosystems, and water resources)
• Energy topics (such as renewable energy; reflective paint that reduces heating costs; geothermal energy; improved efficiency in energy storage)

Program Activities and Participation Requirements

SCCORE students are required to:

• Work a minimum of 20-30 hours per week on their research project
• Participate in required workshops
• Complete a poster project, including an expanded outline
• Consistently work with NM AMP staff member(s) on poster project report and submit working drafts of the outline and poster at intervals during the project period
• Attend and participate in a 1-credit hour course, at the university at which they are SCCORE participants
• Present their research, in either oral or poster format, at a mini-Symposium at the end of the project
• Attend and present their research at the NM AMP Student Research Conference at New Mexico State University.  Students returning to community college in the subsequent fall semester are also encouraged to attend a Community College Professional Development workshop at the conference

Funding

• SCCORE participants are funded with a stipend + per diem for the summer session
• Room and board for non-local students
• Materials/Supplies budget

Eligibility and Selection Criteria

• Community College student in New Mexico majoring in Science, Technology, Engineering or Math (STEM)
• U.S. citizenship or permanent resident per NSF guidelines
• Minimum of 6 credit hours enrollment at NM community college in Spring 2025 in a STEM discipline
• Minimum cumulative GPA of 2.7
• A strong interest in transferring to a New Mexico 4-year institution for bachelor's degree

Applications

Complete the Summer 2025 SCCORE program application by clicking here (Deadline: April 25th): APPLY