About the Scholarship
The purpose of The Dr. Philip H. Sweany Scholarship for Computer Science K-12 Teacher Education is to provide scholarship support for College of Engineering students in computer science, computer engineering or information technology at the University of North Texas.
Dr. Phil Sweany served at the University of North Texas as an Associate Professor of Computer Science for more than 15 years before his untimely passing in 2018. His primary research expertise was in computer compiler optimization and he taught a wide array of sixteen computer science courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. In later years, he spearheaded the Computer Science teacher preparation branch of UNT's Teach North Texas initiative - a pioneering effort to educate computer scientists and equip them to serve as high school classroom teachers to help address the national shortfall in qualified high school computer science teachers. He previously taught at Colorado State University (where he also earned his Ph.D.), National Technological University, and at Michigan Technological University. He also worked for Texas Instruments on computer compilers.
Requirements
To be eligible for consideration, an applicant for the Scholarship must meet the following criteria:
- Meet the minimum entrance and continuing academic performance standards of the University (or its successor) in effect at the time of any award;
- Maintain full-time enrollment as established by the University, unless the student is nearing completion of their degree program and does not need full-time enrollment;
- Enroll as a full-time undergraduate student in computer science, computer engineering or information technology within the College of Engineering (or their successors) at the University;
- Have a minimum 3.0 cumulative grade point average on a 4.0 scale;
- Demonstrate eligibility for need-based financial assistance as determined by completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) (or its successor), which includes an application process that contains written release from the student to share FAFSA information between UNT departments and donors coordinating related award processes;
- Preference shall be given to applicants who are seniors, fifth-year students or students who are otherwise in the final year of their undergraduate computer science, computer engineering or information technology program (or its successor) and who are also preparing to be high school computer science teachers under the Teach North Texas program (or its successor).