STEM Boot Camp (SBC) is directed by UW-Whitewater Biology faculty Dr. Anneke Lisberg and Dr. Stephen Levas. Since 2011, SBC has served underrepresented minority students intending to major in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) entering their freshman year at UW-Whitewater. The STEM Boot Camp consists of an intensive two-week summer camp and continued support through the freshman year aimed at improving student performance and creating a support system. The summer camp portion of SBC runs for two weeks every August.
Past participants in SBC have significantly course pass rates and graduation rates, and have made meaningful contributions to the campus community. Alumni have gone on to attend competitive research and graduate programs, and to work in diverse science fields.
Program Eligibility: To be eligible to participate in SBC, students must be:
The Camp: For the 2-week summer portion of the program, students live on campus and attend daily classes, seminars and discussions aimed at increasing preparedness for college STEM courses and discussing common student concerns and challenges. The students are also matched with peer mentors, all successful alumni of the program. During the summer camp, students experience:
Freshman Fall: Through the freshman fall, students attend one-on-one meetings with peer mentors and program advisors. Students are also required to meet goals that aid student success, such as attending office hours with course instructors.
All SBC students are also invited to attend weekly lunch-hours through the academic year to connect (or stay connected!) with the SBC Community. Lunches are often attended by program directors, peer mentors, and program alumni, including upperclassmen and UWW graduates.
There are NO costs or fees to attend this program! SBC 2021 is supported through a combination of funds from the Wisconsin Alliance for Minority Participation, the Marjorie K. Wilson STEM Boot Camp Endowment, the UW System Bridge Expansion grant and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Students participating in SBC are provided full room and board during the 2-week summer program and students who complete program benchmarks will be paid up to $1000 for successful program completion (students receive part of this payment after the summer program is completed, with the remaining portion paid after the freshman fall semester).
SBC 2022:
Program Dates: Monday August 15 - Friday August 26, 2022.
Applications begin to be screened in the spring (April-May), but we welcome applications after this time. Applications will be accepted and evaluated on a rolling basis until the program is filled, so earlier applications will have the best odds of acceptance. Eligible students should APPLY BELOW for SBC 2022!