The US Army Research Laboratory (ARL) STARS program was designed to assist ARL with maintaining a world class team of scientists and engineers with advanced degrees in highly competitive research areas, while simultaneously continuing to enhance the diversity of the ARL professional team. The STARS program helps to identify and recruit exceptional students that are enrolled in a science, engineering, or mathematics curriculum at Historically Black Colleges or Universities and/or other Minority Institutions (HBCU/MIs). Students participating in the STARS program receive tuition assistance and a paid-internship as they progress professionally within the ARL workforce. Students in the STARS program will receive up to $30,000 per year for two years of their graduate study. During the summer, students are given the opportunity to work with an ARL research team on career-related projects of technical relevance to the ARL mission. Each student enters into a mentor/protégé relationship with an ARL senior research scientist, who will assist in the student's professional development. Successful completion of the program may lead to a career-conditional position within ARL.