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STARTastro is a regional partnership between UC San Diego, San Diego State University, and Southern California's minority-serving community colleges that aims to support transfer student success for Astronomy and physical science majors through a Transfer Receptive Culture Model. STARTastro provides academic and research preparation so that transfer students are ready to excel as upper division majors.
STARTastro is a regional partnership between UC San Diego, San Diego State University, and Southern California's minority-serving community colleges that aims to support transfer student success for Astronomy and physical science majors through a Transfer Receptive Culture Model. STARTastro provides academic and research preparation so that transfer students are ready to excel as upper division majors.
News and Updates
News and Updates
Stay informed & involved by joining our google group at https://groups.google.com/g/startastro
(July 2025) STARTastro scholars and eligible affiliates can now receive graduate admissions fee waivers for UCSD! Supported by the UCSD Division of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs, these fee waivers will help to offset the cost of applying to graduate degree programs.
(June 2025) STARTastro welcomes its second cohort of scholars! 15 scholars transferring into UCSD, SDSU, and UCB STEM programs from 11 different public community colleges are starting their 8-week academic and research academy. They will be working with faculty, postdoctoral, and graduate student mentors, culminating in a presentation at the UCSD Summer Research Conference in August. Welcome to our new scholars!
(April 2025) Five STARTastro scholars and affiliates – Ethan Baker, Marylin Loritsch, Justin Mascari, Sophia Um, and Olivia Wu – were selected to receive Summer Program for Undergraduate Research in Science (SPURS) funding for the upcoming summer. SPURS is a competitive program that supports students in a 10-week summer research project under the guidance of a UCSD faculty member. Congratulations to our Scholars!
(April 2025) STARTastro scholars participated in the 2025 Barrio Logan Science and Art Festival. Organized by the Barrio Logan Association, UCSD CREATE, and community partners, this festival highlights science, art and culture across San Diego communities. Scholars participated as part of a table hosted by the Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, which featured astronomy demonstrations and a solar system mural that spanned the festival.
(March 2025) Recruitment for our second cohort of STARTastro scholars has begun! An in-person presentation on opportunities for STEM transfers to SDSU and UCSD was held at Mesa College in March, featuring Ethan Baker and Tanner Rall; and a virtual event was held in early April, featuring Ethan and Marylin Loritsch (see recording below). We will have another virtual event on Thursday May 8 from 5-6pm, and STARTastro representatives will be in attendance at the UCSD Triton Days Transfer Celebration on May 9th. We hope to see you there!
(January 2025) STARTastro scholars Annika Feng, Marylin Fierro, and Marylin Loritsch presented at the 2025 Conferences for Undergraduate Women and Gender Minorities in Physics (CU*IP). Annika attended the CSU San Luis Obispo site; Marylin & Madison attended the UC San Diego site. All three scholars presented their research in poster presentations, and Marylin was awarded a conference poster prize. See the photo essay on the UCSD event on UC San Diego Today.
What is STARTastro? April 2025 Information Session
What is STARTastro? April 2025 Information Session
Learn about the goals and design of the STARTastro program from our information session held in April 2025. This presentation includes information for California Community College students preparing to transfer as an Astronomy & Astrophysics or related major at any UC or CSU. The session included a Q&A with current STARTastro scholars who are now pursuing their degrees at UCSD.
What is a Transfer Receptive Culture Model?
What is a Transfer Receptive Culture Model?
The Transfer Receptive Culture model focuses on addressing the barriers faced by the diverse transfer students in the public California Community College system, and the role UC and CSU institutions plays in ensuring these students successfully advance from transfer enrollment to completion of a Bachelor's degree. We use the principles of the Transfer Receptive Culture model to design our Transfer Academy program.
Read more
Read more
The Transfer Receptive Culture model identifies five core elements for ensuring transfer student success:
Establishing transfer success as an institutional priority of excellence;
Providing information and resources that collaboratively support Community College programs;
Providing financial and academic support for transfers, with the latter approached from a perspective of excellence rather than deficiency;
Valuing transfer students' lived experiences, including connection to community and family; and
Conducting reflective assessment on metrics of transfer success that account for diverse experiences and goals.
Studies have shown that the Transfer Receptive Culture model addresses students’ fears and misconceptions about transferring, and increases their sense of financial and academic support and validation in their transfer-to institution.
Key references
Herrera, A., & Jain, D. (2013). Building a transfer-receptive culture at four-year institutions. New Directions for Higher Education, 162, 51–59. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/he.20056
Jain, D., Herrera, A. Bernal, S., & Solorzano, D. (2011). Critical Race Theory and the Transfer Function: Introducing a Transfer Receptive Culture. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 35(3), 252-266. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10668926.2011.526525
Jain, D., et al. (2016) Toward a Critical Race Perspective of Transfer: An Exploration of a Transfer Receptive Culture, Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 40(12), 1013-1024. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10668926.2016.1213674
Meet our Regional Community College Partners
Meet our Regional Community College Partners
Funding Support
Funding Support
Our program is generously funded by the Heising Simons Foundation and the National Science Foundation, and supported by staff, faculty, and students in the Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics at UCSD and the Department of Astronomy at SDSU.
CA Proposition 209 Compliance
CA Proposition 209 Compliance
In accordance with applicable Federal and State law and University policy, the University of California does not discriminate, or grant preferences, on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, and/or other protected categories.
More information about California Proposition 209 can be found here.
More information about the University of California's Anti-Discrimination Policy can be found here.
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