To be eligible, you must:
- Be a transfer student from a Maryland community college, admitted to the Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland for the Fall 2025 semester, or a student at the University of Maryland who attended a Maryland community college and will be transferring to the Clark School of Engineering as an internal transfer student in Fall 2025
- Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident
- Demonstrate financial need as indicated by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and as determined by the Office of Student Financial Aid
*Preference will be given to students who will be eligible to take junior-level engineering coursework upon entry to the Clark School of Engineering.
For external transfer applicants (Maryland community college students):
- File the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by the university's priority deadline.
- Apply to the University of Maryland by March 1 for the upcoming fall semester.
For internal transfer applicants (University of Maryland students):
Incoming Clark Opportunity Transfer Scholars (COTS) will participate in summer programming in late August via the ClarkLEAD Transfer Welcome as well as the COTS Welcome Program. The goals of the summer programming are to expose COTS students to campus resources, begin to establish connections with the Clark School, and develop community with their peers as a cohort.
In the following summer, Clark Opportunity Transfer Scholars will participate in a paid summer internship or research experience. Students will be supported in securing an internship or research experience aligned with their career goals by the COTS Faculty Advisor, Dr. Alison Flatau, and workshops and resume critiques provided by Engineering Career Services.
Clark Opportunity Transfer Scholars will engage in semesterly advising meetings with Dr. Alison Flatau, Faculty Advisor, and Guerda Mervilus, Coordinator for Retention, to discuss their educational and professional goals. They will also participate in program meetings focused on professional development during each semester they are in the program. In previous semesters, students have had presentations about building a LinkedIn profile, navigating salary negotiation, and also had the opportunity to have a free professional headshot taken! Past program events also include a field trip to Wheaton, MD to visit an active construction site, managed by Clark Construction. The visit to the Wheaton Revitalization Project allowed students got an inside look at the scope of the project from start to finish, and gave them an opportunity to network with field engineers and project managers, learning about each of their roles and their career paths.
Visit our team page for our contact information!