RISE Scholars Program
About RISE
The Revolutionary, Inclusive, Sustainable Engineering (RISE) Scholars Program is a new initiative in the College of Engineering (COE) launched in Fall 2022. Participation in RISE offers students a variety of specialized opportunities — both academic and social.
Involvement in programs such as RISE helps new students adjust to life at college. A large, research-oriented university like UMass offers incredible advantages and opportunities to engineering students, but the large size of the institution also means that coming here from high school can be a little bit overwhelming.
RISE will help you make the transition as it creates a small college feel within a large university, allowing you to enjoy the best of both worlds. RISE is specially designed for first year women, students of color, LGBTQIA+, and those who are first generation entering the College of Engineering in Fall 2023 but open to all engineering students.
RISE Programming and Benefits
Through the RISE program, we want to introduce you to the huge array of engineering related activities and opportunities across campus. We also want to give you the opportunity to meet faculty members “up close and personal,” because getting to know faculty is probably the single most important thing you can do to make your education truly excellent. RISE will offer you a variety of specialized opportunities, both academic and social.
On the academic side, RISE offers students opportunities to meet and learn from faculty, current students, and alumni you would not otherwise have. We'll have four programmatic focus areas you can participate in:
- Leadership,
- Community,
- Sustainability, and
- Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
We’ll have a large selection of events to accommodate interests and schedules. These will include workshops, luncheons, dinners, symposiums, and more. We’ll mix it up so that everyone can find something of interest to them. We will also connect you with Undergraduate Peer Mentors and provide you with specialized tutoring support.
On the social side, RISE will create a small college feel within a larger college and university. As part of the RISE community, you’ll have priority to live in one of our Engineering Connect RAPs (application required) and the opportunity to participate in a free early arrival to campus program. Living with other engineering students makes it easy to discuss coursework with your peers, study together in your residence hall, and feel comfortable knowing that your neighbors won't think you're weird if you want to talk about math or chemistry or have a quiet night the day before a big exam. The resulting environment enhances academic performance and sharpens your focus (without cutting into your fun!). So, as part of RISE and one of the Engineering Connect RAPs, from the minute you arrive at UMass, you'll be part of a group. You'll be able to go to dinner with friends on your very first night away from home, and you'll likely see those same friends in class on the first day of school. Many of the people you meet on day one will remain as your friends for the next four years. We've seen it over and over again.
Between the academic and social elements, you’ll be asked to attend ~1 event a month but welcome to attend more.
Ready to Apply?
We will start to review RISE applications on January 15, 2023 and continue to accept applications until all the spots are filled. Please note that you may apply even if you have not yet decided whether to attend UMass. Your application indicates only that you would like to participate in RISE in the event that you enroll in the University. We do ask, however, that you notify as at engindiversity [at] umass [dot] edu soon as possible if you decide to attend another institution so we may open the opportunity to others.
We expect there to be 75 spots in RISE, which we are strategically filling to build a motivated, engaging, and welcoming community. If you are admitted to the program, we will notify you of your acceptance and let you know how to confirm your participation.
