The Alliance for Minority Participation (AMP) Program
Overview
This research study gathers information from African American undergraduate students majoring in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology (SMET) related fields. The specific students selected to participate in this investigation are all involved with the Alliance for Minority Participation (AMP) program, a program sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) designed to increase the number of underrepresented minorities in the scientific and technological workforce.
Data collected from these participants will help answer several research questions that investigate student perceptions of factors that affect the matriculation of African American students in SMET degree programs and whether or not students attending Majority White Institutions of Higher Learning Learning perceive factors differently from those attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Data also is being collected to determine if AMP program participants attending Majority White Institutions are different from students attending HBCUs in terms of parental college attendance, financial need, and level or high school preparation and achievement in science and mathematics.
Collaboration
This research study involves 25 Institutions of Higher Learning in six-states across the Southeast region of the United States. These institutions, all involved with the AMP program, form five Alliances that contain both Majority White Institutions and HBCUs in each group. These Alliances are the:
- Alabama Alliance for MinorityParticipation (AAMP)
- Florida-Georgia Alliance (F-GAMP)
- Mississippi Alliance (MAMP)
- North Carolina Alliance (NCAMP)
- South Carolina Alliance (SCAMP)
Research
Data is being collected using a modified survey instrument that gathers student perceptions of various groups of factors that affect the matriculation of African American students in science. This information is supplemented by qualitative data collected from personal interviews and focus groups with the AMP student participants.
Background
The primary researcher for this study has worked as a principal investigator with the Mississippi Alliance for Minority Participation and, therefore, understands the AMP program’s goals and objectives. As a result of an extensive review of related literature, the primary researcher has also developed a comprehensive view of factors that affect the participation of underrepresented minority groups in the fields of science and technology.