CEAS Alumni Scholarship
College of Engineering and Applied Science Alumni Scholarship
The College of Engineering and Applied Science (CEAS) Alumni Board awards scholarships each year to graduating seniors who demonstrate well-rounded abilities in Leadership, Community Service, and Professional Practice (Co-op) Experience.
Important: All examples and experiences submitted must come from your time at UC and/or CEAS.
Applicants are strongly encouraged to review all application materials and the FAQ carefully before submitting to ensure their application is complete and meets all requirements.
Application deadline is Tuesday, April 21, 2026 at 11:59 p.m.
Award and Eligibility
- Recipients will receive a minimum award of $2,000, administered as a tuition grant.
- Students who already receive a full tuition scholarship are not eligible.
- Applicants must:
- Be graduating seniors in the College of Engineering and Applied Science
- Be enrolled full-time and in good academic standing
Selection Criteria
The scholarship committee evaluates applicants based on demonstrated achievement and growth in the following three areas. The examples below illustrate the types of college-level experiences the committee considers.
Leadership:
Leadership may be demonstrated through formal roles or informal influence within organizations, teams, or initiatives during your time in college. Please exclude co-op leadership experiences, as this is covered under Professional Practice Service.
- Initiative and a commitment to seeing projects through to completion
- Leadership roles in student organizations, project teams, research groups, or other college-based activities
- Increasing levels of responsibility over time
- The ability to lead without formal authority
- Recognition or awards for leadership (when applicable)
Community Service:
Community service includes meaningful engagement with campus, local, or broader communities during your college years.
- Active participation in community groups or service organizations
- Sustained involvement rather than one-time participation
- Service addressing social, political, religious, or community-identified needs
- A clear understanding of the purpose and impact of their service
Professional Practice Service:
Professional practice refers to co-op or related professional experiences completed as part of your academic program.
- Completion of projects of increasing significance during co-op work terms
- Positive evaluations or feedback from supervisors
- The ability to apply academic knowledge in a professional, non-academic environment
- Growth in responsibility, problem-solving, and professional skills
Application Materials
Applicants must submit the following as part of their application:
- Current résumé (please do not include GPA)
- Three personal essays (see below for prompts and additional guidance)
- Two letters of recommendation
- One letter must be from a professional practice (co-op) supervisor
- Neither letter may be from a peer
- Letters may address leadership, community service, and/or professional practice experiences
- Recommenders may contact Ann Terry for prompts, additional information, or to submit their recommendation directly
Personal Essays
Applicants must submit three separate essays and each essay must focus on a different, non-overlapping experience from your college career.
- For each category, prompts are provided. You may choose one or use them as guidance to highlight experiences relevant to the selection criteria.
- Each essay must be no more than 250 words.
- Please be specific and provide concrete examples rather than general statements.
- Essays should focus on experiences during your time at UC and/or CEAS. Brief context from earlier experiences may be included if directly relevant.
Leadership (choose one):
- Discuss the hardest decision you’ve made as a leader. How did you decide which course of action was best?
- Describe a time you took on a leadership role without holding a formal title.
- What is the most significant change you brought to an organization?
Community Service (choose one):
- What have you learned from your community service experiences, and how has it shaped your perspective?
- Why is your community service involvement meaningful to you, and how has it influenced your actions?
- Describe a specific impact you made through community service and how it supported an organization’s mission.
Professional Practice (choose one):
- Discuss a challenge you faced in a professional setting and how you addressed it.
- Describe a professional or co-op experience where you made a meaningful contribution.
- What did you learn about engineering practice through a co-op or professional experience?
Frequently Asked Questions
Essays must reflect your own experiences, voice, and writing. While you may use tools for basic editing (such as grammar or spelling checks), the content, ideas, and structure of your essays must be your own. Submitting essays generated in whole or in part by AI tools is not permitted and may result in disqualification.
You may reference the same organization or role, but each essay should address the specific category and prompt clearly and from a distinct perspective.
No. Leadership can be demonstrated through initiative, influence, responsibility, and impact—even without a formal title.
Community service includes unpaid or volunteer activities that serve a community or cause, whether on campus or off campus, during your college years.
The second letter should come from a non-peer who can speak meaningfully about your leadership, community service, academic, or professional experiences (e.g. faculty member, academic or co-op advisor, community leader, a different co-op supervisor, etc.)
Strong applications clearly demonstrate impact, growth, and reflection across leadership, community service, and professional practice during the applicant’s time in college.
Successful applicants typically:
- Provide specific, concrete examples rather than general descriptions
- Show initiative and responsibility, not just participation or membership
- Reflect on challenges, decisions, and learning, including what they would do differently
- Demonstrate growth over time in leadership roles, service involvement, or professional responsibilities
- Connect their experiences to their development as an engineer and community member
Applicants are encouraged to focus on quality over quantity and to explain why their experiences mattered—not just what they did.
Ann Terry
Senior Director, Alumni Engagement, College of Engineering and Applied Science