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Prospective Students

Some Things You Should Know

TAU BETA PI SCHOLARS AND FELLOWS

2005-2006

Two (2) Valpo engineers were named 2 of 69 winners out of 341 applicants for the Tau Beta Pi Scholarship for undergraduate study during the 2005-2006 academic year. They will each receive a cash award of $2,000 for their senior year of engineering study.

VU's CoE was 1 of 10 out of 341 colleges of engineering with multiple winners and the only college of engineering in the state of Indiana. The ten universities were Valpo, Bucknell U, U of Missouri-Rolla, South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, U of Florida, Kansas State U, Louisiana Tech, Ohio U, Virginia Tech, and UC-Berkeley.

2004-2005

There were no Valpo winners in 2004-2005.

2003-2004

A Valpo engineer was named 1 of 39 winners out of 234 applicants for the Tau Beta Pi Scholarship for undergraduate study during the 2003-2004 academic year. He will receive a cash award of $2000 for his senior year of engineering study.

Another Valpo engineer was 1 of 35 winners out of 195 applicants for the Tau Beta Pi Fellowship for graduate study during the 2003-2004 academic year. He will receive a cash stipend of $10,000 toward his graduate work.

Only 8 universities in the country had a TBP Scholar and Fellow: Valpo, South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, Syracuse, BYU, Purdue, Arizona State, Oklahoma State, and UC-Berkeley.

TAU BETA PI (TBP) STUDENT CHAPTER AWARDS

In 2002, The Tau Beta Pi Association, Inc., the national Engineering Honor Society, informed Valparaiso University's Indiana Delta Chapter that it had been awarded a $500 Scholarship for sustained excellent performance in membership and project activities. The Indiana Delta Chapter was the only winning chapter in Indiana. It was one of 30 nationally given to 23 chapters out of the 225 collegiate chapters nationwide.

In 2003, our Indiana Delta Chapter received two $500 scholarships from the TBP Association national headquarters. The first was the Secretary's Commendation Scholarship for “outstanding documentation and service to the Association.” Our chapter was one of 14 nationally to receive this award. The second was the Chapter Project Scholarship for “outstanding service to the Association.” Our chapter was one of 18 nationally to be recognized. Of the 228 currently active chapters across the nation, the Valpo Indiana Delta Chapter was the only Chapter recognized from the State of Indiana. (Results for 2004 will be available in October 2004.)

 

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION GRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP AWARDS

Valparaiso University's College of Engineering had two winners and one honorable mention for the prestigious 2003 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Awards . These awards carry a stipend of $27,500 for each fellow per calendar year and an annual cost-of-education allowance of $10,500, paid to the fellow's institution in lieu of tuition and fees. In the Midwest, the only engineering institutions with as many or more winners than Valpo were Case Western Reserve - 7, U. of Iowa - 6, U. of Illinois - 6, Purdue - 5, U. of Kentucky - 4, Ohio State – 4, U. of Michigan – 4, Wisconsin – 3, Michigan Tech – 3, Notre Dame – 3, Iowa State – 3, Minnesota – 2, Northwestern – 2, VALPARAISO – 2 , and the University of Dayton – 2.

Valparaiso University's College of Engineering had one winner and two honorable mentions for the prestigious 2004 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Awards .

Hesse Learning Resource and Assessment Center: The VU College of Engineering established the Hesse Learning Resource and Assessment Center (LRAC). This in-house center promotes recruitment, retention, and the success of our engineering students. It provides peer tutoring in math, physics, and engineering; proofreading of technical papers; providing resources on study skills; calculus help sessions; and some academic counseling.

Strong Engineering and Liberal Arts Education:

To maximize your probability of becoming a globally competitive engineer, it is necessary to acquire a strong liberal arts education in conjunction with a strong engineering education. The latter is necessary but not sufficient.

Accreditation:

VU is the only Lutheran undergraduate engineering program in North America whose four traditional degree programs (i.e., civil, computer, electrical, and mechanical engineering) are accredited by the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET).

Placement of Graduates:

During the 1996-1997 academic year through 2003-2004 our students have enjoyed placement rates of 98%, 100%, 100%, 100%, 91%, 93%, 89%, and 93% respectively. (These placement rates were computed based on our graduated students being either employed or in graduate school within six months of graduation.) Our average overall placement rate for the past eight (8) years is 96%.

Affordability:

The College of Engineering is affordable compared to other private and public institutions based on the average student financial aid award. In U.S. News & World Report , Valpo was named “best value” among Midwestern, master's-level institutions for the second consecutive year. The University has been ranked first or second in each of the past four years.

Quality of Faculty:

All full-time engineering teaching faculty have earned a Ph.D. in their respective fields. (Faculty have Ph.D.s from U. of Toledo, U. of Texas-Austin, New Mexico State U., Virginia Tech, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa State, U. New South Wales, Purdue, Notre Dame, Johns Hopkins, Rutgers, U. of Illinois, and U of California.) The majority of faculty have professional engineering registration in one or more states.

Personal Faculty Attention:

Nearly all courses are taught by full-time faculty. The use of part-time faculty is minimal. There are no teaching assistants! The class sizes are small, typically less than 30:1 for lower-division courses, and typically less than 20:1 for upper-division courses.

Academic Reputation:

U. S. News and World Report ranks Valpo #21 (i.e., Top 15%) among “Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs” in the country where the highest degree is a bachelor's or master's degree. Valparaiso's CoE degree programs were all highly rated: civil, tied for 12 th ; computer, tied for 6 th ; electrical, tied for 13 th ; and mechanical, tied for 13 th .

  For the 16th consecutive year, Valpo has been identified as one of the Midwest's top-ranked, master's-level universities (among 572) in the annual rankings prepared by U. S. News and World Report . The University is ranked #2 in academic quality, marking the fifth successive year it has been ranked first or second in its category. Valpo has ranked first or second in the Midwest for overall quality in 11 of the past 12 years. The rankings appear in the book America's Best Colleges .

  Valparaiso University is among the institutions featured in The Best 351 Colleges , published by the Princeton Review, and among the institutions featured in The Unofficial, Unbiased Guide to the 328 Most Interesting Colleges , compiled by Kaplan Publishing .