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Welcome to

I-FOCUS-CS Scholarship Program

 



Accepting applications for Fall 2023.

Deadline is July 21, 2023 (11:59pm) (priority date)

 

Biweekly Meeting Schedule

 

Mission

The I-FOCUS-CS Scholarship Program will support high-achieving, low-income students  to successfully complete their degrees in Computer Science (CS) and join the scientific workforce or pursue advanced studies in CS.

With funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) program, I-FOCUS-CS project provides academically talented but low-income students with up to $10,000 Need-based Scholarship per year! The actual scholarship amount is determined based on FAFSA information and the availability of funds.

In addition to providing need-based financial help, I-FOCUS-CS program supports scholarship recipients through different activities (e.g., tutoring, faculty mentoring, biweekly group meetings) so that they can successfully complete their CS degree in a timely manner and join the workforce or pursue higher education! There are no other obligations!

We awarded about 20 I-FOCUS-CS Scholarships to UTSA - CS students in Fall 2018, and about 8 scholarships in Fall 2020. We will continue to support them as long as they meet the retention and eligible requirements. Since some graduated and a few lost their eligibility, we have some extra funds to support new students starting in Fall 2023.

Since the project has less than one year left, we are looking for CS students who are graduating at the end of Fall 2023. We will specifically consider the UTSA - CS students who have successfully completed more than 100 credits including at least the following four core CS courses and their prerequisites at the end of Spring 2023:
CS 3423 System Prog.
CS 3443 App. Prog.
CS 3843 Comp. Org.
CS 3343 Analysis of Alg.

If you are interested in and if you satisfy the following eligibility criteria, please have a PDF copy of your resume and UTSA transcript (unofficial is OK). Then fill out the online application by clicking the "Apply Now" button on the left!

Eligibility Requirements

I-FOCUS-CS Scholars must

  • be US citizens, permanent residents, nationals, or refugees
  • be academically talented (e.g., have a 3.2 or above GPA in major course work, be active in CS community)
  • be economically disadvantaged according to the Department of Education rules for need-based federal financial aid Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
  • be full-time UTSA - CS junior or senior student who have at least one year (but no more than two years) to graduate
  • successfully complete more than 80 credits towards CS degree including at least the following four CS courses and their prerequisites: CS 3423 System Prog. --- CS 3443 App. Prog. --- CS 3843 Comp. Org. --- CS 3343 Analysis of Alg.
The goals of I-FOCUS-CS program

Through scholarship and several other educational activities, the I-FOCUS-CS program plans to

  • increase the number of academically talented but low-income students,
  • improve the retention and more importantly graduation rates,
  • improve the success rate of academically talented but low-income students in proceeding to the technical workforce or pursuing advanced studies in CS, and
  • contribute to the implementation and sustainability.
I-FOCUS-CS Program on the News