The Spelman educational experience includes the benefits of a small college learning community enhanced by robust mentored research experiences. Together, these efforts have helped Spelman secure its place as a top producer of African American science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduates who earn doctoral degrees. Based on a national survey, Spelman was ranked by the NSF as the #2 undergraduate institution of origin of Black Ph.D.s in STEM disciplines. As such, our commitment to build a skilled workforce and foster an educated citizenry involves us ensuring that students who enter the College with an interest in pursuing STEM degrees persist and are exposed to new scientific ventures on the horizon, such as quantitative biology. Funding was requested and approved for high achieving STEM students to attend a seven-day Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) quantitative biology workshop to address their skills in this technologically driven society better and to be more competitive for graduate school.

The MIT Quantitative Biology workshop is an intensive 7-day workshop to expose undergraduate students to quantitative methods used in data analysis. The workshop covers topics in biochemistry, genetics, biostatistics, neuroscience, systems biology and computational biology. Participants are introduced to MATLAB, Python and possibly other software (R and Pymol) that are used in STEM research. Offering this program to our students illustrates the critical role the institution plays in preparing students to contribute to a diverse STEM workforce. Complementing the shared goal of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Georgia Space Grant Consortium (GSGC) of addressing the national crisis for STEM talent, this project serves as a developmental tool to cultivate students ability to persist in STEM arena.

Students who attended this workshop have the opportunity to be selected to MIT and the Broad Institute summer undergraduate research programs and the opportunity to receive a special look for graduate school at MIT in various STEM disciplines.