The STAMPS (Science Technology and Math Preparation Scholarships) program is designed to meet the emerging need for a scientifically literate workforce in the Piedmont Triad of North Carolina, supporting 53 scholarship recipients in 4 cohorts of 11-16 students each. The Triad (Greensboro, High Point and Winston-Salem) forms an urban complex with a population of 1.6 million. The Triad's cultural, social, and economic history was closely tied with tobacco farming and cigarette manufacturing, furniture making, and textiles. In this 21st century, these industries are being replaced with pharmaceutical and technology companies.
STAMPS provides scholarships to students for the 4 years that they attend the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG), with later cohorts receiving support directly from the University after S-STEM funds are completed. Efforts target all of the fundamental sciences at UNCG - Mathematical Sciences, Computer Science, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Biology, Geographic Information Science and Earth Science, Physics and Astronomy - as well as the new Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering. A focus of the program is to recruit talented financially needy students (including women and minorities) into the scholarship program and to provide wide-ranging support to them during their college careers. Scholarship recipients are recruited from area high schools, from students matriculating through the state-supported community and technology colleges or transferring from other universities, and from the current UNCG student population. The STAMPS program focuses on cohorts of approximately 14 students that remain together for as many years as possible so that the resulting cross-disciplinary student community aids in student retention. The STAMPS design includes a freshman seminar, concurrent enrollment in mathematics classes, skill/career development activities, peer mentors, and tutors.
