In an effort to further strengthen its ties with Collin County Community College (Collin), its largest educational partner, The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) announced a new scholarship program that dedicates $175,000 to Collin students who transfer to UTD.

Under the program that will begin in the Fall 2006 semester, promising students seeking to transfer from the community college to UTD may compete for grants ranging from $500 to $5,000.

"UTD has enjoyed a longstanding relationship with Collin County Community College that has benefited both institutions and, most particularly, the many excellent students who have continued their education at UTD after studying at Collin. We accept more transfer students each year from Collin than from any other institution," said Dr. Hobson Wildenthal, UTD's executive vice president and provost. "This new scholarship program will further strengthen a partnership that has long featured proactive collaboration between the two institutions to make transfer of credits seamless and efficient, and that last year grew to include the initiatives of the High Technology Education Coalition of Collin County (Hi-TECCC), an innovative effort of local education and business leaders to promote the study of science, technology, engineering and math."

Hi-TECCC members include UTD, Collin, the Plano Independent School District and representatives from local high-technology companies.

"This new scholarship program, designed by UTD Associate Provost Michael Coleman at the request of President David Daniel, will encourage still larger numbers of outstanding Collin students to continue their studies at UTD."

According to Sam Roach, chairman of the Collin Board of Trustees, this transfer scholarship program will allow even more students interested in the fields of math, science, engineering and technology access to one of the finest institutions of higher education.

"We are very thankful that The University of Texas at Dallas has established such a generous scholarship program for Collin transfer students," said Chairman Roach. "UTD remains a top university transfer destination for our students, and this scholarship program will encourage more students to pursue quality higher education. As educational partners, both institutions are committed to graduating students who, through rigorous academics and applied talent, will keep our region strong and vibrant."

Collin President Cary Israel said that the college was pleased about expanding its dual admissions program with UTD.

"We are very excited about these transfer scholarships and grateful for our continuing cooperation and partnerships with UTD," said Dr. Cary Israel, president of Collin. "These transfer scholarships join our dual-admissions agreement with UTD, which allows our students early admission to university classes, and the Science, Math, Advanced Research, Technology (SMART) educational initiative, an endowment funded by Texas Instruments to provide scholarships for students interested in pursuing degrees in engineering and related fields. Our objective is to create a rigorous integrated higher education system from high school to the university to the workforce. We look forward to the continuation of unique collaborative programs."

The new program features two categories of academic merit scholarships:

Academic Excellence Transfer Scholarship
Ranging in amount from $500 to $2,000 for one year, with specific amounts based on grade point average and number of transferable credit hours. After the first year, recipients will be eligible to compete for UTD’s Continuing Student Academic Excellence Scholarships.

High-Technology Transfer Scholarship
Five, $5,000 four-semester awards for Collin students to study in the natural sciences, mathematics or technology fields at UTD.

Recipients will be selected by science, math and technology faculty members at the community college and the first scholarships will be presented at the Collin Emerging Scholars awards program this spring.

UTD’s Coleman, who administers the university’s efforts in the Hi-TECCC collaboration, said that the new initiative is intended to build on the coalition’s first-year successes, which have included internships and increased scholarship opportunities for area students and professional development programs for local teachers.

Coleman characterized the latest collaboration with Collin as "a natural, given our geographical proximity and our shared emphasis on quality educational opportunities."

He praised Collin students as "bright and motivated - precisely the type of student we seek at UTD."

"As UTD continues to pursue its goal of becoming one of the best public research universities in the United States, we expect to expand our enrollment by as many 5,000 in coming years," Coleman said. "Those new students will come from a variety of sources, including community colleges, and I can't think of a better pool of talent from which to draw than Collin."

The deadline to apply for the Academic Excellence Transfer Scholarship for the Fall 2006 semester is June 1.

According to Coleman, representatives from UTD will visit all of the Collin campuses on a weekly basis during the intervening months to provide information about educational opportunities at UTD and the new scholarship program.

For additional information about the transfer scholarships, call the Academic Excellence Scholarship Program Office at UTD at 972.883.6708.