USC offers tuition-free scholarships in engineering, computing
USC engineering and computing freshmen who are South Carolina residents will be eligible for a new scholarship to cover the difference between tuition and the state-funded LIFE scholarship.
The new Engineering and Computing Expanded Life Scholarship will mean free tuition for at least 100 freshmen who also have LIFE scholarships and are majors in the College of Engineering and Computing, Dean Michael Amiridis announced Wednesday.
After the freshman year, a student's tuition will be covered if the student maintains the 3.0 grade point average necessary to keep the LIFE scholarship and if he or she continues to major in engineering or computing.
USC officials expect the new scholarships to be about $5,400 per student.
South Carolina students have been leaving money on the table by avoiding studies in computing, for example, one of the highest-paying and most in-demand degrees for new college graduates.
Enrollment in computing studies had been shrinking at the University of South Carolina, to 265 undergraduates in 2006 from 688 in 2000, a 61 percent decline. Other S.C. colleges have seen similar trends. Clemson's undergraduate enrollment in computing studies has shrunk by 42 percent since 2000.
Fall 2007 undergraduate enrollment in engineering was 1,341, up more than 9 percent from 2006 when "The New Face of Engineering" campaign was launched to boost undergraduate enrollment.
More than 83 percent of engineering and computing undergraduates are South Carolina residents.
Amiridis said the initial $500,000 for the scholarship is through gifts from individuals, businesses, industries and the College of Engineering and Computing. He said the money already raised will fund the program the first two years; additional funds will be necessary to continue it beyond those two classes, or to expand it.
"At a time when our state and nation face an alarming shortage of engineers and computing professionals, this program will enable us to recruit the state's best and brightest students into a career field that offers lucrative job opportunities," he said.
Nationwide, computer science majors plummeted to 8,000 in the fall of 2006, from 16,000 in 2000, according to the Computing Research Association.
Meanwhile, demand for computer science graduates has soared nationwide. The American Electronics Association says the U.S. technology industry added 150,000 jobs in 2006, in a field where a new college graduate with a degree in computing can earn $52,000 a year.
Deepal Eliatamby, an alumnus of the college and a leader in the effort to fund the scholarships, said his education gave him the tools and foundation to lead a productive life and make a difference in his community.
"This scholarship program is a continuation of what has been done for me," said Eliatamby, who came to USC in 1984 from Sri Lanka, earned bachelor's and master's degrees and established Alliance Consulting Engineers Inc. Today the Columbia engineering firm employs 34 people.
"Students who earn their engineering and computing degrees in South Carolina are more apt to stay here and help our state grow," he said.
House Speaker Bobby Harrell said the brain drain of bright young people from South Carolina has been a major concern. He described USC's plan as a bridge for the gap in tuition and an innovative approach to solving tuition concerns of parents and students.
The scholarship aims to boost the college's efforts to increase undergraduate enrollment by 30 percent to 1,630 students, including women and minorities, by 2010.
-- James T. Hammond, jhammond@thestate.com