Dear University of Puerto Rico Administrators:
I write to make you aware of a tremendous scholarship-for-service opportunity for U.S. undergraduate and graduate students and to request that you encourage your best students to apply to the SMART Scholarship Program. This is a highly-selective, prestigious, national program that fully supports their education, including full tuition, a very generous stipend, book allowance, and Summer internship, while they are in school, and then provides guaranteed employment with the Defense Department upon graduation.
The Science, Mathematics, And Research for Transformation (SMART) scholarship-for-service Program fully funds undergraduate and graduate degrees in a wide range of technical areas, including all fields of engineering, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Brain and Cognitive Sciences, and Mathematics.
A SMART brochure and a poster are attached and the application web page is atwww.asee.org/SMART. The application deadline is December 1, 2011 for the 2012 school year. SMART provides:
· Full Tuition – to any accredited U.S. University
· A very generous stipend while in school
– $25,000 for undergraduates
– $33,000 for masters candidates
– $36,300 to $41,800 for doctoral candidates
· Book allowance – $1,000
· Health Insurance
· Paid Summer internships
· All required student fees
· Travel for internships
Summer internships at Labs are required. In return for fully funding their education, students are required work as a civilian employee at a Service (Army, Navy, Air Force) or DoD Agency (NSA, DIA, DARPA, etc.) laboratory, or other research and development activity for a period equal to the time the program paid for their school. Students must be U.S. Citizens, able to obtain a DoD Security Clearance, and be willing to work as a civilian in the DoD upon graduation.
There will be approximately 300 new awards this year. A list of SMART awards from previous years is listed by University at: http://smart.asee.org/schools/scholar_directory
While University of Puerto Rico is one of the top schools in terms of the number of SMART recipients, I think we can greatly increase the number of your students supported in this program. I would appreciate your help in disseminating this information to your students, faculty, undergraduate advisors, and graduate coordinators, and by encouraging your best students to apply for this tremendous opportunity.
Please direct your interested students to: www.asee.org/SMART. There are links to the application portal and other program related information. Additional applicant and SMART related questions for students can be answered via:
Email: smart@asee.org
Phone: (202) 331-3544
Thank you for your consideration in this matter. If you have questions at the university/ college/department level, please feel free to contact me.
Respectfully,
Knox
Senior Administrator for the DoD SMART Program
______________________________________
Knox T. Millsaps, Sc.D.
Professor and Chairman
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
700 Dyer Road, Room 338
Naval Postgraduate School
Monterey, CA 93943-5100 USA
web: www.nps.edu/mae
Phone: (831) 656-2586, 656-3382
Fax: (831) 656-2238
email: millsaps@nps.edu