Yes! GCSP is a nationally recognized program from the National Academy of Engineering. Upon completing the GCSP, you will receive a certificate/letter from the NAE President which is an excellent credential for your resume! In addition, employers are starting to take note! Becoming a GC Scholar will help you be uniquely prepared to collaborate and succeed in a transdisciplinary and global environment.
According to the 2019-2020 Santa Clara University Undergraduate Bulletin, “To be in good academic standing at the University, a student must normally be enrolled for 12 or more units, must maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.0 based on all courses taken at Santa Clara, and must have completed at least a minimum number of units as specified below.
- Completing at least 36 quarter units in the previous three quarters of residency
or
- Completing at least 36 quarter units by the end of the third quarter of residency
- Completing at least 76 quarter units by the end of the sixth quarter of residency
- Completing at least 115 quarter units by the end of the ninth quarter of residencyGCSP
- Completing at least 160 quarter units by the end of the 12th quarter of residency
https://www.scu.edu/bulletin/undergraduate/chapter-8/AcademicStandingandStudentClassification.html
The SCU GCSP program is designed to leverage coursework and extra-currciular events that many students already choose to participate in. It is not designed to add a considerable load to your already busy schedules. From this viewpoint, it is actually desired for you to be involved with extracurriculars! You can email Dr. Kuczenski for support in making your GCSP plan. jkuczenski@scu.edu
Of course! Please direct all your questions to the Director, Jes Kuczenski jkuczenski@scu.edu. She will be finding faculty mentors for the different GCSP areas, providing application support, and advising as needed while we get this program off the ground!
There will also be a GCSP Application event in the fall quarter that will be advertised through the School of Engineering's Weekly Newsletter in the early fall.
Not currently. As long as you are in good academic standing and have an approved plan to complete the program while at SCU, we will likely accept most students into the program!
The 14 listed Grand Challenges areas http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/challenges.aspx are the ones formally recognized by the Scholars Program. In addition, a challenges area could be one of the broader Grand Challenges areas of Security, Sustainability, Health, or Joy of Living. Overall, these challenges areas are broad; if you are having trouble fitting your research or interest into a challenge area, contact the Director, jkuczenski@scu.edu!
Santa Clara University is just one of almost 90 colleges and universities across the nation (in addition to another 13 international institutions) to have a Grand Challenges Scholars Program!
No! Becoming a scholar as a first-year simply gives you more time to complete the GCSP requirements! It helps you find more opportunities and paths to pursue your GC interests and fulfill the competency areas throughout your time at SCU.
A GCSP Camino course has been created for you to track your GCSP progress and enter information to complete competencies. You will even earn digital badges as you complete competencies! Information needed is often transcript information for coursework, participation proof for student org or other projects, brief reflection of internship experiences, etc. Detailed information is given under each competency in the Camino course. Email Dr. Jes Kuczenski <jkuczenski@scu.edu> for more information or to ask if a given experience might count towards a particular competency.