University of South Alabama Awarded Nearly $5M NSF Grant to Support Low-Income STEM Students
Posted on October 16, 2025
The University of South Alabama, in collaboration with Bishop State Community College and Coastal Alabama Community College, has received a nearly $5 million grant from the National Science Foundation to support low-income students pursuing degrees in STEM fields.
The funding will provide more than 60 scholarships valued between $12,000 and $15,000 per year, renewable for up to five years. Scholarships will be available to eligible first-year students at South, Bishop State or Coastal Alabama and may continue as students transfer from a community college to South.
The STEM STARs project aims to ease the financial burden for students with high academic potential, allowing them to focus on degrees in math, chemistry, physics and engineering.
Participants will join learning cohorts and receive academic and social support, including targeted instruction in precalculus — a critical step for success in STEM majors. The program is designed to empower students, build confidence and foster a sense of belonging in the STEM community.
“We hope to create an environment where students have that supportive cohort experience through their math courses, whether precalculus or calculus,” said Dr. Eric Steward,Associate Dean of Undergraduate Affairs in the College of Engineering and principal investigator for the project. “Another benefit is that the scholarships can be offered for up to five years, so we are able to provide them with a well-funded pathway that doesn’t pressure them to catch up.”
Steward said that many low-income students attend high schools that do not prepare them to start calculus in college, leaving them “off track” from a typical STEM curriculum. In addressing this gap, South is partnering with Bishop State and Coastal Alabama’s math departments to ensure students in the program build a strong foundation in mathematics.
“Math provides the foundational language and reasoning skills essential for understanding complex scientific concepts, analyzing data and solving intricate problems,” said Dr. Andrei Pavelescu, assistant professor in South’s Department of Mathematics and Statistics.
Pavelescu is one of four co-principal investigators on the project. The others are Dr. Audi Byrne, associate professor, Department of Mathematics and Statistics; Dr. Drew Gossen, assistant professor, College of Education and Professional Studies; and Dr. Nicole Carr, associate vice president, Student Academic Success.
To be eligible for a STEM STARs scholarship, students must score a minimum of 22 on the math portion of the ACT and meet the institutional definition of low-income, which includes Pell Grant-eligibility based on their FAFSA submission.
Financial pressures often require these students to work part- or full-time while pursuing their degrees.
“The scholarship component of the project will reduce the need for additional work and provide students the time and space to focus on learning and building the skills needed to achieve in the classroom and eventually in the labor market,” Carr said.
In addition to helping students, the project is expected to benefit Gulf Coast industries facing a growing demand for STEM professionals.
“This program will be a pathway for more students to land a stable, rewarding and well-paying career in the STEM fields, while allowing companies to hire long-term employees with ties to the region,” Steward said.
The program is scheduled to launch on Feb. 1, 2026.
