LMU Descartes Scholarship
The Loyola Marymount University (LMU) Descartes Scholarship is a new program that will provide each of the twelve students selected a four-year renewable scholarship of up to $10,000 per year! The scholarship is for students from the Los Angeles area, with substantial financial need who qualify for the Pell Grant program and who major in the departments of Chemistry & Biochemistry , Civil Engineering , Electrical Engineering & Computer Science , Mechanical Engineering , Mathematics and Physics . Once a student receives the award for fall 2009, the scholarship is renewable, for up to $10,000 per year, for up to four years as long as the student remains in one of the targeted majors and in good academic standing.
When combined with the other federal, state and institutional grant programs Descartes Scholars will have a “grant rich” financial aid award that will allow them to attend LMU with significantly smaller student loan amounts than would normally be assumed. We hope that Descartes Scholars actually will have a “full (or nearly full) ride” during their four years at LMU; although the individual nature of the need-based components of financial aid and other factors prevent us from promoting the scholarship in this way.
The scholarship is funded by the S-STEM program of the National Science Foundation (NSF). The S-STEM program makes grants to institutions of higher education to support scholarships for academically talented, financially needy students, enabling them to enter the workforce following completion of a university degree in science and engineering disciplines.
There is no additional application for the Descartes Scholarship. Students applying for admissions to LMU in one of the majors listed above who believe that their financial need would make them eligible for the scholarship should simply mention in the Statement of Intent portion of their application that they would like to be considered for the scholarship. Students must be U.S. citizen or permanent residents in order to qualify for the scholarship.
( Specific citizenship/residency requirements .)
Selections will be made by a committee of faculty in consultation with the LMU Office of Financial Aid .
Potential Descartes scholars should meet the following minimal academic criteria:
Math SAT ≥ 600 and high school GPA ≥ 3.2; or
Math SAT ≥ 550 and high school GPA ≥ 3.5; or
Math SAT ≥ 500 and high school GPA ≥ 3.7
Meeting the criteria does not guarantee selection as the Descartes Scholarship will be very competitive. Since LMU has rolling admissions, students interested in the Descartes Scholarship are encouraged to apply early.
In addition to the yearly scholarship award, students selected as Descartes Scholars will be able to utilize support services provided as part of the program. These include free access to technical and writing tutors, academic & professional development workshops, partial scholarships to participate in summer study abroad programs like the Math, Science & Engineering Program in Bonn, Germany .
About Loyola Marymount University
Located on a bluff overlooking the west side of Los Angelesand Marina del Rey, Loyola Marymount University is a comprehensive university offering a variety of undergraduate and graduate degrees. Founded in 1911, LMU is the largest Catholic institution of higher education on the West Coast with nearly 5,500 undergraduate students and more than 3,000 graduate and law students. LMU's campus is often recognized as one of the most beautiful in the country; for example, recently by MSN Travel .
LMU takes pride in its mission statement “The encouragement of learning, the education of the whole person, the service of faith and the promotion of justice.” Most LMU students say that attending LMU is a life changing experience that is filled with learning and the building of friendships. Additionally, getting to know professors and working closely with them, makes being an LMU student special. Janet Reyna, a student in the College of Science and Engineering, comments that she has gotten to know all of her professors during her time at LMU. Professors learn students’ names within the first weeks of the semester and are focused on their students and their education. Yes, research is an important part of their job as professors, but students are their top priority and receive the highest quality instruction.
LMU students have many opportunities to get involved outside of the classroom. LMU is home to 7 service organizations, dozens of chapters of national societies, athletic clubs as well as 132 clubs and 15 Greek fraternities and sororities. Many of these extracurricular activities involve service learning and giving back to the local community. Programs such as feeding the hungry and mentoring are among the many that students participate in. So much more can be said about the LMU experience. The admissions website offers more details about what LMU has to offer. LMU students are consistently challenged academically and at the same time are offered the opportunity to grow into well-rounded individuals.
The Descartes Scholarship program is housed in the Seaver College of Science and Engineering . The engineering programs in the Seaver College are accredited by the Association Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), and the Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry is approved by the Committee on Professional Training (CPT) of the American Chemical Society (ACS). The university’s diversity is also reflected in the Seaver College: of its 432 students, more than 52 % are women and about 30% are Hispanic/Latino or African American.
The College’s primary focus has always been and continues to be excellence in undergraduate education. Indeed, the College’s mission statement states, “LMU’s Seaver College of Science and Engineering is committed to providing innovative, student-centered educational and research opportunities in an intellectually vibrant and socially just environment.” This focus was recognized at the national level as LMU’s engineering programs tied for 14th place in the 2005 U.S. News and World Report’s national rankings for universities whose highest degree is a bachelor’s or master’s degree, and in 2006 as the College earned one of 11 Undergraduate Science Research Program awards sponsored by the Merck Institute for Science Education and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
About Descartes
The scholarship is named after the seventeenth-century mathematician, scientist, engineer and philosopher René Descartes. Part of Descartes’ education took place at the Jesuit college of Le Flèche in Anjou, France making him arguably the most famous technical expert to be educated at a Jesuit institution. Descartes’ legacy of excellence in mathematics, engineering and science coupled with Jesuit universities’ history of excellence in education and of providing educational opportunities to financially-challenged students are at the core of theLMU Descartes Scholarship.
More Information
If you need further information about the LMU Descartes Scholarship, write to descartes@lmu.edu . You may also contact the program director Professor Herbert A. Medina at 310-338-5113 or hmedina@lmu.edu .
Specific Eligibility Requirements
Students selected for the scholarship must
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be citizens of the United States, nationals of the U.S. (as defined in section 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act), aliens admitted as refugees under section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, or aliens lawfully admitted to the U.S. for permanent residence;
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be enrolled full time in a degree program at the baccalaureate or graduate level. Enrollment must be full-time for each semester a student receives the scholarship.