Grand Challenges Scholars Program
Grand Challenges Scholars Program (GCSP)
The Grand Challenges Scholars Program (GCSP) is a unique outcomes-based national program that gives wide flexibility to institutions on the best ways of offering appropriate and relevant experiences to students. The program is founded in the aspirational vision of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) to make our world more sustainable, secure, healthy, and joyful. A goal of GCSP is to pilot innovative educational approaches that will eventually become the mainstream educational paradigm for all engineering students.
UTC’s Grand Challenges Scholars Program is for ALL UTC students inspired to understand and contribute to solutions for some of the greatest challenges facing humanity. It is jointly administered by the UTC Honors College and the UTC College of Engineering and Computer Science (CECS).
Students in UTC’s Grand Challenge Scholars Program (GCSP) design and pursue a plan of transformational learning and research to address one of the following world’s greatest challenges:
- Making Solar Energy Economical
- Restoring and Improving Urban Infrastructure
- Advance Health Informatics
- Providing Access to Clean Water
- Securing Cyberspace
- Preventing Nuclear Terror
- Enhancing Virtual Reality
- Engineering the Tools of Scientific Discovery
While focusing on one of these challenges, and with the support of a faculty mentor, students will develop their own paths to achieve the program’s 5 competencies: Research Experience, Interdisciplinary Coursework, Business/Entrepreneurship, Multicultural/Global Experience, and Social Consciousness – Community Engagement.
Become a Grand Challenges Scholar
If you are a first-year student, a transfer student, or a sophomore student who is motivated to make the world a better place for all, we encourage you to learn more about the program by:
- Contacting the GCSP Program Director Dr. Cecelia Wigal at [email protected]
- Registering for the 0 credit GCSP Seminar – UHON 3990r CRN 46546 Introduction to the Grand Challenges Seminar. Contact Dr. William Kuby at [email protected] to request entry to the seminar.
Participation in the Introduction to the Grand Challenges Seminar is required to apply to the GCSP. Students who complete all GCSP requirements will receive unique graduation regalia and be recognized at the university’s graduation ceremony as a Grand Challenges Scholar.