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    • What Can You Do with an Engineering Degree? Apply now REACH Scholars

    NSF: Where Discoveries Begin

    The REACH (Recruiting Engineers to ACHieve) Scholars Program at UCD


    NIST Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF)
    NSF-REACH Engineering Scholarship
    NSF-REACH Scholarship Eligibility

    Project Goal:
    The goal of the REACH Scholars program is to recruit students with academic talent and financial need into the College of Engineering and Applied Science at UCD and to provide the financial, academic and social supports that will motivate and equip these students (the REACH Scholars) to complete their degrees in a timely manner and join the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce.


    Project Design:
    REACH has three main components:

    (1) A pre-collegiate summer workshop designed to recruit students into the College of Engineering and Applied Science at UCD (College) and the REACH Scholars program;

    (2) Scholarships that will provide up to $7,600 for the first academic year for full-time students enrolled in the College who demonstrate financial need, academic achievement, and the commitment to pursue a STEM career (you are qualified for another REACH award of $3,800 during the second academic year);

    (3) A network of academic and social supports that will help REACH Scholars persist in their studies at a high level of achievement, complete their baccalaureate in a timely manner, and pursue career and educational opportunities in the field.


    Program Objectives:
     Increase degree persistence and completion among engineering majors:

  • 80% of REACH Scholars will stay continuously enrolled in UCD from the time of their award to graduation or the end of the grant term.
  • 70% of REACH Scholars will earn or be on track to earn a baccalaureate degree in engineering within five years of initial enrollment in the engineering program.
    • Increase the Number of Engineering Majors Pursuing Careers in the Field:
  • 80% of the REACH Scholars cohort will plan to pursue a career in the field.
    • Increase the Number and Diversity of Engineering Majors at UCD:
  • The number of students enrolled in engineering at UCD will increase.
  • The number of financially disadvantaged students enrolled in engineering at UCD will increase.
  • The number of minority and first-generation students enrolled in engineering at UCD will increase.



    • Principle Investigators:

  • Dr. Gita Alaghband, Professor of Computer Science at UCD
  • Dr. Nien-Yin Chang, Professor of Civil Engineering at UCD
  • Mr. Larry Armenta, Director of the Pre-Collegiate Development Program at UCD