STEM CONNECT

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About STEM CONNECT

The STEM Career Opportunities in Nebraska: Networks, Experiential-learning, and Computational Thinking (STEM CONNECT) is an NSF-funded STEM (Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) scholarship program forming a partnership among the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), Western Nebraska Community College and Southeast Community College (SCC).

STEM CONNECT decal.

STEM CONNECT awards scholarships to and provides curricular and co-curricular support to academically talented, low-income students with interest in careers that require strong skills in mathematics or computer science.

The STEM CONNECT program has many benefits in addition to the scholarship itself. Students will participate in a seminar designed to help them develop as leaders, they will gain mentors in their field, and be placed in specially designed courses with their cohort!

Additional Information

Eligibility

To be eligible for a STEM CONNECT scholarship, a student must:

US citizens, permanent residents, US nationals, or admitted refugees.
be enrolled full time in a STEM-focused academic transfer program at SCC or WNCC or a bachelor's degree program at UNL majoring in mathematics, computer science, computer engineering, or software engineering at the time the scholarship is awarded;
have demonstrated financial need as determined by the FASFA.

What programs of study are included?

Programs of study eligible for STEM CONNECT support include pre-engineering, pre-computer science, information technology, chemistry, mathematics, and physics, although other programs having a mathematics or IT component will also be considered.

Benefits of STEM CONNECT

There are so many benefits from being a part of the STEM CONNECT Scholars community. You will meet people with the same interests and get the chance to learn from and be mentored by respected professors and instructors! Many STEM CONNECT Scholars also will have the opportunity to work as a Peer Mentor or a Learning Assistant and thus mentor newer STEM CONNECT Scholars. STEM CONNECT Scholars will also have the opportunity to take special sections of five courses with their cohort during their first two years of support: two mathematics courses, two computer science courses, and a 1-credit seminar.

The STEM CONNECT Seminar
Starting in Fall 2020, all STEM CONNECT Scholars will participate in a 1-credit course their first semester as a STEM CONNECT Scholar and bimonthly seminars in subsequent semesters. The seminar is designed to help students develop their leadership potential, gain valuable academic skills, become aware of available support services and resources on their campuses, build a common identity within the STEM CONNECT community, and learn about STEM career and education options.

Scholarships

STEM CONNECT Scholarships are need-based, with a maximum of $8,000/year. A student’s financial need is determined by U.S. Department of Education rules based on information provided with a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) application.

Scholarships are renewable subject to the program’s eligibility criteria for up to four total years at UNL or for two years at WNCC. WNCC students who transfer to UNL are eligible for two additional years of support at UNL.

A limited number of STEM CONNECT Scholarships will be awarded to current WNCC students starting in Spring 2020. Additional scholarships will be available to students who will be first-time freshman starting in Fall 2020 at WNCC.

At WNCC, you must be in the academic transfer program at the time the scholarship is awarded, with a commitment to take math and computer science courses.

Scholars must maintain a 2.75 GPA in their first year of college or their first year after transferring to UNL and at least a 3.0 GPA in subsequent years.

Let us know you are interested!

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