CUNY received a $1.5 million grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation that will expand the CUNY Transfer to STEM Student Success program for an additional three years.
The grant will allow the program, which was launched by the Office of Academic Affairs in 2023, to continue funding professional development opportunities that allow CUNY graduate students to become peer mentors for undergraduates.
“After a successful first three years of Sloan investment, we are excited to continue supporting CUNY transfer in the STEM disciplines,” Lorelle Espinosa, the director of the Sloan Foundation’s Higher Education Program, said.
The program, also known as TS3, will continue the Office of Research’s 14-year relationship with the Sloan Foundation, which previously sponsored the Junior Faculty Research Award in Science and Engineering and the CUNY Undergraduate Research Program.
TS3 supports students who transfer from CUNY community colleges to a STEM baccalaureate degree program at CUNY institutions such as The City College of New York, Hunter College, Lehman College and Queens College.
Students spend the summer participating in intensive research that they present through posters to a university-wide audience, with feedback provided by both faculty and graduate students. TS3 also provides transfer students at four-year colleges with basic and applied research skills that prepare them to pursue careers and degrees in STEM fields. Students who participate in the TS3 program receive a stipend of $7,000.
“The first three years of the TS3 program funded year-long experiences and lab-based research for over 100 students,” CUNY said.
The grant renewal will extend the program to seven students per college, with a total of 84 students over the span of the grant.
Throughout the academic year, the transfer students will be responsible for attending professional workshops hosted by their peer mentors. The workshops will cover topics such as “Public Speaking in Science,” “How to Read a Scientific Research Paper,” “Data Visualization” and “Overcoming Imposter Syndrome.”
Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at the CUNY Graduate Center Luke Waltzer and New York City College of Technology professor Diana Samaroo will assist the peer mentors in designing workshops to prepare students for lab research, communication and career readiness.
“This program plays an especially critical role at this time as it focuses on the success of students who have transferred from CUNY community colleges to a four year college,” Effie MacLachlan, University Director of Grants and Research Programs in the Office of Research, said.
Applications for the 2026-27 cohort are open, with rolling acceptances until all positions are filled.
