Why Stay at UNCP All Four Years?
UNC-Pembroke students have a trend of transferring after two years and graduating with a degree from another university. Pembroke appears as a community college in this respect, or is seen as having fewer options than other four-year universities.
For STEM majors, UNCP is a better school to attend than larger universities because of the opportunities to do undergraduate Photo by Brendaly Vega
research. There are three main programs that make the school stand out for STEM majors.
RISE
The first is the RISE program. RISE funds students to work in the lab doing full-time research, much like a graduate student would at a larger university. Since Pembroke is small, there isn’t an army of graduate students waiting to work for each professor.
As a result, undergraduates get valuable research experience, which often gains them access to Ph.D. programs. Usually, applicants are only accepted after a year of post-bachelor’s degree work. UNCP has many research faculty mentors that take on students through hawk-assistantships.
The RISE program is particularly beneficial to students because the salary is comparable to working a regular minimum wage job. The program also allows students to participate in summer research internships that usually provide a minimum stipend of $5,000.
GRE prep and 50 percent of the cost of taking the GRE is covered as well. UNCP is a great place to be for students pursuing a graduate degree.
COMPASS
The second program is a scholarship opportunity called COMPASS. This program covers tuition and housing. Students in the program attend weekly workshops about important life skills like how to write a resume, how to understand complex scientific literature and how to communicate scientific ideas in writing.
Students can also attend field trips to industries where stem majors often work after graduation. They can get a first-hand look at jobs that are valuable to them.
STEM
The last program is partnered with North Carolina State University. The Sustainable Bioproducts and Bioenergy program requires students to complete three online NCSU courses, which will give them the background needed for a STEM industry job.
The classes are offered at no cost to the student. Through this program a STEM major can obtain a degree from UNCP and a foot in the door with several bioengineering industries. The student will also be able to work at a bioengineering company for a summer internship. A stipend of up to $10,000 is awarded as well.
With this program, STEM majors would stand an exceptional chance at getting work in a well-paying industry job right after graduation. Overall undergraduates at UNCP gain the benefit of a school that puts its students first.
Since UNCP is accredited with the UNC name, it is a reputable school to name drop and a place that actually cares about its students. For undergrads, this is a rare combination. At UNCP, students have the opportunity to get closer to their professors and gain valuable mentorship and truthful recommendation letters.
NCP is a place where a student can obtain a quality education while still having a quality life.
