This project will contribute to the national need for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need pursuing degrees in chemical engineering at Prairie View A&M University, the University of Houston, and the University of Kentucky. Despite efforts to improve retention and graduation rates in engineering, challenges persist across these three institutional contexts (a Hispanic-serving Institution, a Historically Black College & University, and a Predominantly White Institution in an EPSCOR jurisdiction), as well as in the broader engineering community. Data from these institutions show a relationship between financial stress, mental health issues, and reduced academic performance among engineering students. This planning grant will use student focus groups to enable the identification of services that would provide financial, engineering identity, and wellness support for students enrolled in chemical engineering programs. Interventions will effectively account for the culture of chemical engineering as a course of study and incorporate students as co-creators of knowledge around what it takes to support student success, well-being, and retention. The planning activities will inform a future Track 3 S-STEM proposal that will support scholars across the three collaborating institutions. The overall goal of this project is to understand how