Strengthening the STEM Pipeline Through Summer Programmes for Underrepresented Minority Students

The under-representation of ethnic minorities in the STEM workforce in the US is preceded by disparities in who attains a college degree in STEM. This column studies the effectiveness of a trio of STEM-focused enrichment programmes targeted at high school seniors from groups historically underrepresented in STEM fields. A six-week programme increased four-year STEM degree receipt by 13 percentage points and five-year degree attainment rates by 20 percentage points. One-week and online programmes also increased STEM degree attainment rates within five years, with shifts of 15 and 5 percentage points, respectively. The authors estimate that the shift to STEM degrees increased potential earnings by 2–6%.