NSF grant to fund engineering scholarships

UNC Charlotte was awarded a $999,591 grant from the National Science Foundation to support high-achieving, low-income engineering students as part of the NSF’s Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (S-STEM) program.

The UNC Charlotte program, Engineering Academic Pathways, includes scholarship funds and programming to promote success among low-income students. Applications for the scholarships are being accepted, and the first awards will be made for fall 2019.

“UNC Charlotte made a commitment to respond to the economic mobility hurdles that were identified by the Charlotte Mecklenburg Opportunity Task Force, and this is one of those responses,” said Brett Tempest, associate professor of civil engineering and lead principal investigator on the UNC Charlotte Engineering Academic Pathways leadership team. “The education that our Lee College of Engineering offers is an extremely reliable route to a good job, and the increased access that these scholarships and programs offer will be a game-changer for many families in our region.”

The UNC Charlotte Engineering Academic Pathways program will fund scholarships for 15 students as they pursue bachelor’s degrees in engineering and engineering technology disciplines. The renewable scholarships will provide individual students with $10,000 a year for tuition and fees and a $2,000 stipend for professional development.

Along with increasing recruitment, retention and graduation of low-income students, a goal of the NSF S-STEM program is to implement and study models, effective practices and strategies that contribute to student success. The program will build on the effective, recruiting, advising, curricular and co-curricular activities in STEM education that are provided by the Office of Student Development and Success.

Read more about the scholarship, leadership team and implementation and evaluation team, which includes members from the Cato College of Education, the Center for STEM Education and the Lee College of Engineering Dean’s Office and Office of Student Development and Success.