A program at USC Mann School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, the USC STAR Program brings together USC scientists and engineers with high school students in Los Angeles. STAR students learn about science and math by conducting research with USC experts.
STAR Student Outcomes
STAR student research contributes to scientific publications and research grant proposals. 100% of USC STAR Students attend college, and on average 92% (vs 29% of their peers) attend top-tier colleges and research institutions including: USC, Harvard, Stanford, Duke, Columbia, California Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cornell, Brown, the Claremont Schools, and UC’s at Berkeley, San Diego, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Davis and Irvine. 97% of STAR students receive academic scholarships to attend university and while in college 88% continue to conduct scientific research with declared majors in science and engineering. STAR students from underrepresented racial/ethnic backgrounds attend research institutions and major in science and engineering at rates commensurate with students from represented backgrounds.
Collectively, the data indicate that the STAR Program is a critical conduit that begins with a high rate of participation among students who have been historically underrepresented in the scientific research pipeline, and keeps them in the pipeline—at the nation’s top research universities. The USC STAR program, its impactful outcomes and educational values are extensively discussed in a commentary by STAR program founder Roberta Diaz Brinton, published in the Journal of Neuroscience in 2007.
USC Faculty & Staff
If you are interested in participating in the USC STAR Program as a research scientist, or to sign up your lab as a partner research lab, please contact Terry David Church at tdchurch@usc.edu and Amanda Burkhardt at aburkhar@usc.edu.
