The Department of Physics and Engineering offers four merit-based scholarships to its majors.

First-Year Engineering Scholarship:

The purpose of this scholarship is to encourage high caliber students with a commitment to engineering to join our department.  Each first-year scholarship will carry an award of approximately $1000.

Applications for the First-Year Engineering Scholarship should include evidence of the following: composite ACT score of 28 or above (SAT 1150), high school GPA or Senior year GPA of 3.0 or above, completion or enrollment in high school courses in calculus or pre-calculus, physics, and chemistry. These items should be part of your regular application to Loras College.  Lastly, you should send an essay (see below) to:  Associate Professor Danial Neebel, Program of Engineering and Physics, Loras College - Box 210, 1450 Alta Vista, Dubuque, IA 52001.  The application deadline is April 15th.  The faculty will select and announce the scholarship winner(s) by May 1st.

Successful applicants will have the first half of their award applied to their financial aid package once they enroll in the engineering program.  The second half will automatically become available once it is established that the awardee achieved a first-semester GPA of 3.0 or above and has remained in the major.

The department's faculty members are interested in learning about the motivation and dispositions of incoming students.  Write an essay addressing the following questions (total length of 3-5 typewritten pages):

• What events (e.g., playing with Legos or Erector sets, working on car engines or stereos, seeing the unveiling of a new bridge or of a new aircraft, visiting a dam, watching a movie) and/or persons (e.g., a family member, a teacher, a famous engineer, a famous personality like Neil Armstrong) in your life triggered your interest in the sciences or engineering?
• How old were you when this happened?
• When did you first voice your interest in engineering to others, who were they, and how did they respond?
• What positive and negative comments do you have regarding how your education helped you develop your engineering interests?
• What were the factors that made you decide to study engineering at Loras?
• What do you see yourself doing immediately after you receive your B.S. degree (i.e., what are your short-term career goals)?

Sophomore SME (Society of Manufacturing Engineers) Engineering Scholarship:

The purpose of this scholarship is to reward excellent performance during the first year in engineering. The scholarship was initiated by Professor Joe Walton (Physics & Engineering) and is financially supported by the local chapter of the SME.  Each sophomore scholarship will carry an award of approximately $1000.  Please contact any of the department faculty for further details.

Junior George Freund, Jr. Memorial Scholarship:

The purpose of this scholarship is to reward excellent performance during the junior year in physics or engineering. The scholarship was endowed by the family and friends of the late George Freund, Jr. Each junior scholarship will carry an award of approximately $1000. Please contact any of the department faculty for further details.

Senior Engineering Scholarship:

The purpose of this scholarship is to reward excellent performance during the junior year in engineering. The scholarship was initiated by Professors Joe Walton (Physics & Engineering) and Dorothy Atkins (English Department), who also both contributed significantly to the scholarship's fund.  Each senior scholarship will carry an award of approximately $1000.  Please contact any of the department faculty for further details.