This grant renews support for the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership (SIGP), one of the Foundation’s signature initiatives focused on advancing Indigenous perspectives and scholarship in STEM graduate education.
The grant will support six graduate campuses (University of Arizona, University of Kansas, University of Montana, Montana State University, Purdue University, and the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry), and three undergraduate partner campuses (Haskell Indian Nations University, University of North Carolina Asheville, and Western Carolina University). Kevin Gibson of Purdue oversees the national program and coordinates cross-campus activities.
The SIGP model is focused on interventions in four key areas of graduate education: recruitment and admission, mentoring and advocacy, community-building, and student funding. The program further seeks to transform graduate STEM education in ways that support: 1) the inclusion of Indigenous perspectives, knowledge, values and experiences in STEM research, teaching, and engagement, 2) the ability for scholars to address issues relevant to Indigenous communities and issues, and 3) the improvement of student outcomes and contribution to a sense of belonging through a cohort model and strong emphasis on community engagement.
A key feature of the program is Sloan-supported scholarships for SIGP Sloan Scholars. Sloan funds (administered via a separate grant to NACME) provide M.S. students $22,000 over two years and PhD students $44,000 over four years. Grant funds are used as “top-off” dollars, with campuses providing a full financial package to both M.S. and Ph.D. students. Other key features of SIGP programming include engagement with the Sloan Scholars Mentoring Network for SIGP alumni and implementation of a competitive seed grant program for scholars seeking funds to support research with and inside Indigenous communities.