ECE scholarship to benefit incoming freshmen

Thanks to a $1.5 million donation from The Grainger Foundation, Lake Forest, Illinois, scholarships will be given to freshmen enrolling in electrical or computer engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign starting with the Fall 2008 semester. The scholarship program was created to help ECE Illinois continue its long tradition of attracting outstanding students.

"The Grainger Foundation strongly believes in the importance of engineering and the need to encourage young people to enter this vital profession," ECE Department Head Richard Blahut said. "The demand from industry for our graduates is very high and this gift provides one more reason for students to choose to enroll in electrical or computer engineering at Illinois."

For the next four years, all US citizens or permanent residents who are admitted and enroll in the ECE program at Illinois as freshmen will receive the scholarship. Each will receive a one-time award of $1,200 during the fall semester to assist with educational expenses.

ECE Illinois students continue to be highly sought after by major employers. According to data from the University’s Engineering Career Services (ECS) unit, 720 employers recruited ECE students during the 2006-2007 academic year with more than 1,800 job postings during the same period. ECS also noted that starting salaries for graduates with a BS in computer or electrical engineering ranged from $40,000 to $92,000, with the mean eclipsing the National Association of Colleges and Employers average for both specialties.

For information about other scholarships offered through the ECE Department, visit the Undergraduate Scholarships and Awards page.

Editor’s note: Any questions about this scholarship should be directed to Kara MacGregor, ECE scholarship coordinator, at kmacgreg@illinois.edu or (217) 333-9706.