Summer Community College Opportunity for Research Experience (SCCORE)

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. SCCORE is offered at all NM AMP universities, providing students the opportunity to participate in the program at the institution to which they want to transfer.

Program Activities and Participation Requirements

SCCORE students are required to:
 
  • Work a minimum of 20-25 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 at $1,500 for the summer session
  • Supplies stipends of up to $150 is available to the mentor for materials and supplies related to the student’s project for the summer session.
  • Room and board for non-local students.

Eligibility and Selection Criteria

Any student (2-year institution) majoring in Science, Technology, Engineering or Math (STEM) major is eligible to apply. The National Science Foundation (NSF) sets the preference for participants of the SCCORE program who have been historically underrepresented in STEM: Hispanic or Latinos, African Americans or Blacks, Alaskan Natives, American Indians, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders.
 
Further qualifications include:
 
  • U.S. citizenship or permanent resident per NSF guidelines (QCAM only allows citizens)
  • Full-time enrollment in community college in a STEM discipline in the spring semester
  • Minimum cumulative GPA of 2.7
  • A strong interest in transferring to a New Mexico 4-year institution