Welcome! We're glad you're here!
We hope you'll accept the invitation to the INSPIRE program. If you do, you'll gain:
- Immediate access to a community of peers and mentors in your major.
- The information you need for academic success in UCSB, the College of Engineering, and your major.
- A vision for internship and career opportunities in your major.
- Connections with faculty and local industry leaders in your field of study.
The INSPIRE program begins when you accept your invitation to join by completing the online form. You will then receive an Approval code to join Engr 13A in Fall 2024; you should enroll in this class through GOLD immediately after receiving the Approval code. Engr 13A will meet on Fridays at 9:30am in the Instructional Learning Pavilion (ILP) room 2207. If you need assistance using GOLD, take a look at the GOLD 101 Basics video.
There will be a welcome event on Tuesday September 24th from 1:30-3pm. You will receive the details of the event closer to the date.
During the Fall and Winter quarters, the majority of INSPIRE activities will occur through the weekly seminar (Engr 13A in Fall and Engr 13B in Winter). The seminar is designed to be fun while providing you with important information for success in your major. You will be placed in a group of approximately five other first-year students in your major, and will have a peer mentor (a junior or senior in your major) who will work with your peer group to help guide your path to success during your first year.
During the seminar, all INSPIRE Scholars and peer mentors will meet together, sometimes engaging in discussions directly with your peer group and other times engaging with the entire INSPIRE cohort and INSPIRE faculty. There will be minimal homework for the seminar. There may be an occasional easy reading assignment, but the majority of learning will take place during the seminar itself. In the Fall quarter, we will visit different organizations on campus, introduce you to key faculty and staff who are available to support your journey, and meet students from a variety of student groups within the College of Engineering. During the Winter quarter, we will have a series of guest speakers, including alumni, faculty, local industry leaders, and senior students in your field of study. The speakers will share aspects of their careers and current jobs to give you a vision for job and internship opportunities in your major. You will also have the opportunity to directly talk about them, to learn first-hand about opportunities in their organizations. You will also get to hear from senior students participating in our Capstone courses to hear about their projects.
In addition to the seminar itself, there will also be occasional social activities outside of class time with your peer group and peer mentor. These will be scheduled at a time that is good for your group. These will be optional, but we highly encourage you to attend to get to know your peer group and mentor better. Plus, they will often involve food!
There is no cost to continue participating in INSPIRE. In fact, INSPIRE Scholars will receive $150 in Fall and Winter quarters when they participate in the program. In addition, INSPIRE Scholars will receive mentoring from undergraduates and UCSB faculty as part of their participation.
