The SME Education Foundation, which has awarded more than $8 million to nearly 3,500 students since 2005, has recorded a 95% increase in completed scholarship applications over its historical average.
The governing body of the Foundation, the board is comprised of leaders from industry, academia as well as community leaders.
A combination of administrative, school board and community support — plus designation as an SME PRIME (Partnership Response in Manufacturing Education) school — have made the manufacturing education program a success at Leyden High School District 212, located in a northwest Chicago suburb.
The SME Education Foundation's renewed and focused commitment to a diversity, equity and inclusion strategy is designed to fully integrate diversity and equity opportunities in every program, effort and initiative undertaken by the Foundation. The Foundation created and established a new Irving P. McPhail Scholarship Fund and will begin focusing its growth efforts on the nation’s Title I schools.
Our scholarship application process for 2022-23 is now open. If you are an engineering professional or educator with a STEM background, please consider volunteering to serve as a scholarship application reviewer for our online review process.
A grant from the SME Education Foundation’s PRIME initiative helped Capital High School — located in Helena, Montana — purchase a new CNC plasma cutter and ironworker for the school's machining, welding and mechanical engineering programs.
Scholarships range from $1,000 to $40,000 and can be used for tuition, books or lab/course fees.
Nicole Tharp is a Manufacturing Automation student at Truckee Meadows Community College slated to graduate in the coming months with her associate degree. Nicole has received two scholarships from the SME Education Foundation, and credits that assistance as important in allowing her to focus on her studies.
Luis Rodriguez-Perez graduated from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with a degree in Systems Engineering. A recipient of the SME Education Foundation’s Myrtle and Earl Walker Scholarship, Luis noted that hard work, financial support, and the encouragement of his family were critically important in his efforts to earn a scholarship.