Pelham Scholars Program

Earn your Master’s and become an engineer in service to society

Pelham Scholars are socially-conscious engineers seeking to expand their education to solve society’s most pressing problems. We’re looking for students who share our commitment to diversity—in people and ideas. Being a Pelham Scholar provides you two semesters of free tuition, plus you’ll receive one-on-one mentorship with industry professionals and an education that prepares you for a successful and rewarding career as an industry thought leader. As a Pelham Scholar, you’ll be joining a close-knit campus community of faculty, staff, students and industry leaders who are invested in your success.

Get financial support for your degree. The Pelham Scholars Program pays for two full semesters of tuition, putting you in a strong financial position with higher earning potential. New graduates with a master’s degree can typically earn 10-20% more than new graduates with a bachelor’s degree.

Build your network. Pelham Scholars are offered professional development programming that enriches their education. This programming involves industry sponsors who offer their time for mentoring. This direct interaction with industry partners gives Pelham Scholars exclusive access to a high-caliber professional network that will accelerate your success in industry after you graduate.

Do daring projects. Our state-of-the-art facilities put your ideas to the test – but the real world is the best laboratory. Our collaborations also span across the globe – from Flint, Michigan to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – offering scholars the opportunity to work on real-world projects impacting communities. There’s nowhere your work can’t take you.

“I was drawn to the Pelham Scholars Program because of the professional focus. This is a critical skill that I did not see other programs prioritizing in the same way. Knowing that there was a small group of us let me know that we would each receive the attention we needed to develop professional skills and relationships.”
–Ariana Sabbat, Pelham Scholar 2019-2020

What are we looking for?

The Pelham Scholars Program is open to newly admitted students in a graduate degree program who:

• Have a record of superior academic achievement (e.g., grade point average, honors, or other designation);
• Are U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or undocumented students with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA)

And meet one or more of the following criteria:

• Come from an educational, cultural or geographic background that is underrepresented in graduate study in CEE in the United States or at the University of Michigan;
• Have demonstrated a sustained commitment to diversity in the academic, professional, or civic realm through their work experience, volunteer engagement, or leadership of student or community organizations. By commitment to diversity, we mean efforts in the U.S. to reduce social, educational or economic disparities based on race, ethnicity or gender, or to improve race relations in the U.S.;
• Have experienced financial hardship as a result of family economic circumstances;
• Are first-generation U.S. citizens or are the first generation in their families to graduate from a four-year college.

Apply

You can find the application for our MSE and MEng programs here. Please note that there is no separate application for the Pelham Scholars Program – by applying to one of our master’s programs, you will automatically be considered for the Pelham Scholars Program.

About the Pelham Scholars

Pelham Scholars participate in a range of activities, such as the following that took place during the 2019-2020 academic year:

• Meet and greet lunch with Pelham Scholars and industry sponsors
• Industry mentoring
• Professional Networking 101 workshop
• Resume book of Pelham Scholars sent to industry sponsors
• Sponsor office tours
• DEI-themed seminar
• Monthly meetings

Pelham Undergraduate Scholars program

The Pelham Undergraduate Scholars program is designed to support juniors and seniors in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering who show academic excellence coupled with an exemplary commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) by providing scholars:

• Professional mentorship
• Career advising
• Monthly meetings to discuss DEI and professional development topics
• Opportunities to meet one-on-one with invited speaker in our DEI-themed seminar series
• When feasible, onsite tours of Pelham sponsors office locations
• Opportunities to be highly competitive for graduate school funding via the graduate-level Pelham Scholars Program

Pelham Scholars Cohort Members for Academic Year 2020-2021

Master’s Students

• Peter Bongiomi (MS EnvE, Environmental)
• Estefania Escobar (MS EnvE, Hydraulics)
• Cesar Garcia MEng (CEM, Construction)
• Jeff Manner (MS EnvE, Hydraulics)
• Lindsay Rasmussen (MS EnvE, Environmental)
• John To (MS CivE, Structures)
• Patrick West (MS EnvE, Environmental)

Undergraduate Students

• Emilia Ferme Giralt (BS EnvE, Hydraulics)
• Mya Gibbs (BS CivE, Structures)
• Albert D. Hernandez (BS CivE, Structures)
• Tarrik Quneibi (BS EnvE, Environmental)
• Ariel Roy (BS CivE, Sustainability)
• Teanna Sims (BS EnvE, Environmental)
• Jeanna Washington (BS CivE, Construction)

Industry partners

We would like to thank our industry partners for their generous support of the Pelham Scholars Program:

Aristeo Construction

LimnoTech

OHM Advisors

PMA Consultants

Become an industry partner

If you are interested in becoming an industry partner or otherwise supporting the Pelham Scholars Program, please contact Melanie Zauel (mzauel@umich.edu).