Association of TRIO Pre-College Programs

The McNair Scholars Program is designed to prepare qualified UT Arlington undergraduates for graduate study culminating in the Ph.D.

The program thus provides many benefits to assist scholars to become more competitive in the graduate school application process, leading to their admission to top-ranked programs and facilitating a smooth integration into graduate-level work.

In creating the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program, the U.S. Congress paid tribute to Dr. Ronald McNair, an astronaut and scientist who perished aboard the space shuttle Challenger in 1986. The goal of the McNair program is to assist promising students from low-income/first-generation or under-represented backgrounds to enter the professoriate. It was founded on the premise that neither socio-economic nor minority status should prevent talented students from pursuing a career in teaching and research at the college or university level.

SSS is a component of the federal TRiO programs, funded by the U.S. Department of Education, and established at UT Arlington in 1976.

TRiO-Student Support Services (SSS) provides opportunities for academic development and serves to motivate students toward successful completion of their undergraduate college experience. The goal of SSS is to improve academic performance, increase retention and graduation rates and foster an environment that supports undergraduate students.

The Educational Opportunity Center (EOC) is a program that helps adults further their education. Whether that means exploring options for Adult Basic Education or High School Equivalency programs or enrolling in college, university or vocational school. The program offers assistance free of charge to economically disadvantaged adults who live in Tarrant or Dallas County. In order to take advantage of the services, you have to be a U.S. citizen or permanent legal resident.

The Educational Talent Search Programs at UT Arlington provide free college, career and financial aid information to over 1,000 junior high and high school students each year.

This program identifies and assists individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds who have the potential to succeed in higher education. The program provides academic, career, and financial counseling to its participants and encourages them to graduate from high school and continue on to the post-secondary institution of their choice. Talent Search also serves high school dropouts by encouraging them to reenter the education system and complete their education. The goal of Talent Search is to increase the number of youths from disadvantaged backgrounds who complete high school and enroll in post-secondary education institutions of their choice.

..striving to create Upward Bound scholars, self-actualized learners that realize education is the key to social change, that learning extends beyond the limits of the classroom, and ultimately, students that endeavor for excellence.

Upward Bound is a federally funded program founded in 1965 by the U.S. Department of Education. Located at several institutions throughout the country, the Upward Bound Program at UT Arlington has been providing services to area high school students since 1982. Participants are potential first generation college students and several belong to low-income families.

The program focuses on equipping these students with the necessary skills to succeed, both academically and personally, after high school graduation. Services include after-school tutoring, academic instruction in core curriculum, TAKS/PSAT/SAT/ACT preparation, college tours, workshops, summer residential program, monthly community service opportunities, cultural & educational field trips and a host of other activities. Participants also receive a monthly stipend.

The University of Texas at Arlington has been awarded a grant from the United States Department of Education to conduct an Upward Bound Math & Science Center. The UT Arlington Upward Bound Math & Science Center provides to the eligible students the assistance necessary to strengthen their math and science education and assist them in demonstrating competencies in the subject areas required for graduation and success in MSE.

The objectives of the program are designed to meet the specific needs of each individual participant. Assistance to the students is provided through the continual academic year activities and the academically intensive six week summer residential component on the UT Arlington campus. Through out the year, students participate in highly motivating math, science and engineering activities during the Academic Year component and Summer Residential component.

UT Arlington Veterans Upward Bound is a free program for qualified veterans, designed to motivate and assist veterans in the development of academic and other requisite skills necessary for acceptance and success in a program of post-secondary education. The program provides assessment and enhancement of basic skills through counseling, mentoring, tutoring and academic instruction in the core subject areas of mathematics through pre-calculus, laboratory science, foreign language, composition and literature. The primary goal of the program is to increase the rate at which participants enroll in and complete post-secondary education programs.