Enrichment
ActivitiesUndergraduate education is enhanced by activities outside the classroom that enrich the undergraduate experience. Thus recipients of NSF-CSEMS scholarships are expected to participate in enrichment activities appropriate to their major, background, and year in college. Renewal of NSF-CSEMS scholarships will be based in part on the extent to which students have enhanced their education via such enrichment activities.
Mandatory Activities:
- Attendance at the annual NSF-CSEMS enrichment workshop The 2005-2006 workshop is scheduled for 10am-noon on Monday, Feb. 5 in 112 McDowell.
- Annual consultation with an academic advisor in the student's major department.
- Attendance at a career services workshop at least once by the end of the student's sophomore year. Information on such workshops can be found at help on career planning web page.
- Attendance at a career or job fair. Information on career fairs can be found at the Career Fairs web page.
- Provide the University of Delaware NSF-CSEMS committee with an annual update of enrichment experiences.
- Undergraduate research experience: most faculty are delighted to involve undergraduates in their research projects. Undergraduate research enables students to learn first-hand the underlying methodology of research and its capabilities and limitations in solving today's problems; moreover, students who participate in undergraduate research often find it so exciting that they become highly motivated for graduate study. For further information about undergraduate research opportunities, students should consult their academic advisor and the Undergraduate Research Program . Of particular interest are the following:
- Science and Engineering Scholars: This program provides students with the opportunity (supported by a stipend) to pursue research during the summer between their sophomore and junior years.
- International Research Opportunities: Opportunities exist for University of Delaware students to participate in research at institutions outside the United States.
- Senior theses: Students may pursue research and write a senior thesis during their senior year, leading to either a Degree with Distinction or an Honors Degree with Distinction.
- Student professional organizations: student professional organizations are local University of Delaware chapters of major professional organizations in the CSEMS fields. Students are strongly encouraged to join the student chapter of the professional society in their major field of study and to actively participate in its activities, perhaps even holding an officer or other leadership position. The CSEMS student chapters include the following:
- Association for Computing Machinery (ACM):professional society for computer science and computer engineering majors and minors
- American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AICHE): professional society for students in chemical engineering
- American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE): professional society for students in civil engineering
- American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME): professional society for students in mechanical engineering
- Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers: professional organization for students majoring in electrical or computer engineering.
- National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE): professional society for students in any engineering discipline
- Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE): professional society for students from any engineering discipline who are interested in the field of automotive engineering
- National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE): professional society for African American students who are engineering majors
- Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE): professional society for Hispanic students who are majoring in engineering
- Society of Women Engineers (SWE): professional organization for women who are pursuing majors in an engineering discipline. Also of interest is the Women in Engineering Program.
- McNair Scholars Program: enrichment and support program whose goal is to increase the number of low-income and underrepresented students who pursue graduate study and ultimately a PhD degree
- Study Abroad: opportunities exist for study in over 35 countries as part of an undergraduate degree at the University of Delaware
- Industrial internships: students in CSEMS fields have many opportunities to hold summer internships with industrial organizations in their field of study. For further information, students should consult with their academic advisor.
- Undergraduate lab assistants and tutors: many departments hire undergraduate students as lab assistants in introductory courses and/or provide them with opportunities to tutor students in introductory courses. For further information, students should consult with their academic advisor.
- Discipline-specific experiences: all CSEMS departments offer enrichment experiences targeted at students in those specific disciplines. Examples include programming teams that compete against teams from other universities (sponsored by the Department of Computer Science), a team that competed in the Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon (sponsored by the Department of Mechanical Engineering), and the North American Putnam Competition (sponsored by the Department of Mathematics) that brings out the best creative problem-solving skills. For further information, students should consult their academic advisor, the chair of the undergraduate committee in their major department, and the student chapter of their professional organization.