Welcome to HSTA

Health Sciences & Technology Academy, known as HSTA, is a one-of-a-kind mentoring program in the state of West Virginia that helps participating high school students enter and succeed in STEM-based undergraduate and graduate degree programs. HSTA marshals the efforts of hundreds of mentors—teachers, community members, higher-education faculty and staff, and the HSTA participants themselves—through a framework that supports students facing social and financial challenges to obtaining a diploma and moving on to college.

HSTA Scholars Are: 

  • 75% Rural
  • 37% African American
  • 69% Female
  • 68% First-Generation College Attendees
  • 46% Financially Disadvantaged

And They Achieve Phenomenal Success:

  • 2,879 high school students have graduated from HSTA, 1998-2019
  • 99% of HSTA graduates matriculate to college
  • 89% graduate from college; 86% graduate with a four-year degree or higher 
  • 84% of HSTA college graduates continue to live and work in West Virginia
  • On average, HSTA students earn $30,000 per year more than their parents
  • State schools provide substantial tuition support through medical school and other advanced STEM-based degrees