Norwalk Community College's Engineering Program Receives NSF Grant

The Engineering Program at NCC has received a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) S-STEM program. The grant will provide scholarships of up to $10k for up to three years to academically talented low-income students in the engineering program to lower their cost of attendance at NCC. The grant also provides wrap-around support services and promotes a community of learners to help students persist toward graduation and transfer.

The NSF S-STEM program aims to increase the number of academically promising low-income students who graduate with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) degrees and contribute to the American economy. Recognizing that financial aid alone cannot increase retention and graduation in STEM, the program provides awards to institutions of higher education not only to fund scholarships but also to adapt, implement, and study evidence-based curricular and co-curricular activities that are effective in supporting recruitment, retention, graduation, and transfer in STEM.

Mobin Rastgar Agah, Coordinator of Engineering Program, Rachel DiPietro, Director of Institutional Effectiveness, and Tony Peffer, Dean of Academic Affairs, are the project’s primary investigators. The project is currently accepting applications for its first cohort in fall 2023.

Interested parties are encouraged to visit norwalk.edu/engineering/scholarship or contact Dr. Mobin Rastgar Agah at MRastgarAgah@ncc.commnet.edu.