Chemistry

Transforming the Experiences of Transfer Students

While shorter lived, the Trailblazer program in the Chemistry department made substantial strides towards addressing one of Berkeley’s most critically underserved populations, transfer students. Their work developed a class that is now a regular part of the curriculum, Chem 102, that is aimed at addressing the inequity in experiences, both in terms of practical and theoretical knowledge, that makes a detrimental impact on the ability of transfer students to receive laboratory and, ultimately, career-relevant experience. 

  • Reach: 60 transfer students, with continued impact through the Chem 102 course.
  • Equity-focused work in filling in the gaps in institutional knowledge that prepares transfer students for participation in Chemistry research and private industry.
  • A model of personalized mentorship from graduate students and faculty.

Integrating Mentorship and Discovery Experiences to Support College of Chemistry Transfer Students

Our goal is to transform the experiences of transfer students within the College of Chemistry so that they are guided to develop and engage in discovery experiences spanning across the two years that they are enrolled at UC Berkeley.

The core component of our program is a one-credit course called Chem 102: Foundations of Discovery Learning for College of Chemistry Transfer Students, which guides transfer students to engage in a creative Discovery experience of their own design, such as undergraduate research, industrial internships, community-centered educational outreach, and STEM entrepreneurial pursuits.

A student wearing a blue lab coat and purple latex gloves, syringes a liquid substance into tubes.

The Chem 102 Experience

  • Students engage with the College of Chemistry community through laboratory tours, research presentations, and panel discussions with graduate students, senior transfer students, and professionals from a wide variety of STEM careers.
  • Students are connected with faculty and senior transfer student mentors who provide advice and support related to coursework, discovery learning experiences, and careers.
  • Students are supported to create a Discovery Proposal describing their desired Discovery learning experience as well as a Statement of Purpose that can be used to apply for internships, research positions, and other Discovery experiences.

Chem 102 Student:

"This class really helped me transition to Berkeley and interact with other students. I was also previously very unfamiliar with how research works here and would be incredibly unprepared in applying to positions without the help of this class...I would recommend this class to any transfer student!”

Chem 102 Student:

"I liked that the statement of purpose assignment was flexible so we were able to choose to adapt it to the purpose we needed it for. It was very helpful for preparing to pursue our individual discovery learning experience."

Chem 102 Student:

"All of the materials provided to research discovery opportunities were very clear and helpful. I think the associated assignments building up to the final proposal also helped because we were able to get feedback along the way and update our plans as the semester progressed."