ATHENS, WV (LOOTPRESS) – Over the next three years, nineteen incoming students at Concord University will be awarded four-year scholarships for as much as $60,000 ($15,000 per year). Scholars will also receive a computer and additional career-focused enrichment activities to support their academic and social growth through graduation – thanks to a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to Concord University.
Concord University is seeking interested students to pursue Bachelor of Science degrees in chemistry, computer science, computer information systems, and environmental geosciences.
Concord’s SEAM Program (Science Engagement and Active Mentoring) will build fellowship among students and contribute to the national need for well-educated scientists and technicians by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving students with demonstrated financial need at Concord University. The project will last through 2030.
The project will enhance students’ STEM and professional identity and development by tying together cohort building, career and entrepreneurial focused field trips, direct mentoring by student peers and faculty, and a variety of workshops. As a distinguishing feature, SEAM cohorts will be able to participate in outreach and research activities at Concord’s Materials and Rare Earth Element Analysis Center and Virginia Tech’s NSF-funded NanoEarth laboratory. Ultimately, the project will help grow the regional STEM workforce.
The Concord SEAM project is funded by NSF’s Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics program (S-STEM), which seeks to increase the number of low-income academically talented students with demonstrated financial need who earn degrees in STEM fields. It also aims to improve the education of future STEM workers, and to generate knowledge about academic success and career pathways of low-income students.
Concord is actively recruiting highs school seniors this year for the incoming 2025 SEAM cohort.
The program is open to new first-time freshmen as well as transfer students. Both West Virginia residents and out-of-state residents are eligible. Students qualifying for the program must be eligible for the federal PELL grant. The SEAM program scholarships cover tuition, room, and board.
For more information, please contact Dr. Joe Allen, Concord University Distinguished Professor of Geology / Chair, Department of Physical & Environmental Sciences at 304-384-5238 or allenj@concord.edu.
Details on Concord University’s SEAM Program: https://www.concord.edu/seam
