Hood College Receives National Science Foundation Scholarships

The money will be used to pay expenses for students majoring in STEM courses.

 

Frederick, Md (KM) For the first time in its history, Hood College has been awarded $650,000 in National Science Foundation Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). . The money will be used to support students with demonstrated financial need who are pursuing majors in the STEM subjects. .

The project entitled “Interdisciplinary STEM Education and Mentoring to Transitioning to STEM Success” is under the director of Dr. Kevin Bennett, a professor of chemistry, who will oversee the implementation of the grant, according to a news release from Hood College.

This is the first  time Hood has been awarded this NSF–STEM scholarship grant. Out of the 277 proposals submitted, Hood was selected for one of 85 new scholarships from the NSF. “This is a national recognition of the strength of the STEM program at Hood College,” says Dr. Bennett.

Throughout the five-year award period, Hood says the 12, four-year scholarships and two, six-year scholarships will be provided to students studying for bachelor’s degrees in biology, biochemistry, chemistry, environmental science, math, computer science and computational science. The four-year scholarships will begin in the fall of next year, and the two-year scholarships will start in the fall of 2021. The scholarships will average $7500 per academic year.

Hood says this scholarship will help the school strengthen its STEM programs at a time when the need for professionals in this field is growing. Maryland’s long term occupation  projections from 2014-2024 shows that the state will need an additional 41,479 employees in computer occupations, mathematical sciences, life sciences, biological sciences, biochemistry, chemistry and environmental sciences.

Frederick County is home to 72 bioscience  companies.

 

By Kevin McManus