SPECTRA Programs
The Scientists, Prepared, Enriched, and Challenged Through Research-based Activities (SPECTRA) program prepares students for modern careers relying on science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) skills and knowledge through the use of innovative and engaging learning experiences. This and other programs of Truman's STEP Office serve Missouri and America by supplying its workforce with talented and creative individuals. We fuel regional, national, and international economic competitiveness with our cutting-edge programs and our graduates.
The SPECTRA program's two primary projects are
- the SPECTRA Summer Scholars program, and
- the SPECTRA Scholars program.
Participants are selected from the pool of incoming first-year students through a competitive application process. Applicants need not be committed to pursuing a major in science or mathematics, but should show some aptitude and interest for the subject(s).
Please click here to request additional information about becoming part of the SPECTRA program.
SPECTRA Summer Scholars Program
Let us help you accelerate your education. Students accepted as SPECTRA Summer Scholars will start their Truman experience early by taking a majors-level STEM course during the summer before the start of their freshman year. The SPECTRA program will
- provide SPECTRA Summer Scholars with on-campus room and board during that time (a $3000 value),
- pay the cost of tuition for the STEM course (a $800 value),
- arrange for a non-STEM course that satisfies a graduation requirement to accompany and be integrated with the STEM course,
- pay a $1000 stipend to SPECTRA Summer Scholars who successfully complete the summer coursework, and
- organize summer activities that will promote the social, academic, and professional growth of SPECTRA Summer Scholars.
This program is for students whose record demonstrates considerable commitment to earning a STEM degree and who would benefit from a jumpstart on their college education.
SPECTRA Scholars Program
Traditionally, incoming Truman students declare a major interest before they ever take a college-level course. Many students are not ready to make that kind of decision. The SPECTRA Scholars program allows students who are interested in STEM majors to defer that decision as they investigate the nature of the STEM disciplines, their interconnectedness, and how 21st century STEM professions will value interdisciplinary training across STEM fields.
Students selected to be SPECTRA Scholars will
- receive a scholarship with the possibility of renewal through their sophomore year1,
- take major-level STEM courses each semester along with two SPECTRA seminars, one in each of their first two semesters, and
- participate in career and internship awareness activities,
- be eligible for free and personalized course coaching for science and mathematics courses
- be considered for paid research position with a faculty-mentor during their second year of college.
By the start of their junior year, SPECTRA Scholars will be well-positioned to be very competitive for national interdisciplinary research experiences, internships, and post-graduate training. Most SPECTRA Scholars will earn a STEM degree, and all SPECTRA Scholars will be able to leverage the kind of understanding of STEM that the 21st century workforce values.
The SPECTRA Scholars program is for students with a demonstrated talent for a STEM field who have not declared a major or who are uncertain about their major options.
Why SPECTRA?
Humanity's understanding of the natural world and society is growing at a rate that makes textbooks obsolete within years of their publication. Consequently, a college education must be less about memorizing factual knowledge than it is about learning concepts and how to acquire future knowledge.
Research on learning shows that hands-on learning through research-based experience gives young people exactly the tools they will need in life after college: deep and long-lasting conceptual understanding that prepares students for the life-long learning that the acceleration of scientific discovery will require in the 21st century.
It's through programs like this that Truman State University's is providing Missouri and America with graduates who will be leaders and innovators in tomorrow's workforce today.
This program is made possible by National Science Foundation Proactive Recruitment in Science and Mathematics (PRISM) Award #0928013. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of Truman State University, and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation.