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What is PIECES?

The SIUE School of Engineering has established the Partnership with Industry for Engineering Cooperative Experiences and Scholarships (PIECES) program to provide financial, academic, and social support to academically talented students pursuing bachelor's degrees in the School:

Civil Engineering	Computer Engineering	Computer Science	Construction Management
Electrical Engineering	Industrial Engineering	Manufacturing Engineering	Mechanical Engineering

Financial Support

The PIECES program provides two types of financial assistance to eligible students. For the first two years of attendance at SIUE, PIECES scholars will receive direct financial assistance in the form of $2000 to $10,000 scholarships. Afterwards, students will be provided with opportunities to work as interns in area firms to gain valuable work experience and continued financial support.

Academic Support

In addition to having access to SIUE's regular academic support services (tutoring, writing and communication centers, and career development), PIECES scholars are assigned faculty mentors in their major departments. These mentors serve as academic advisors to the scholars, assisting them with course selection, responding to questions about program requirements, and monitoring their academic performance and progress towards their degrees.

Social Support

PIECES scholars will have opportunities to attend annual receptions, meetings of local professional organizations, and other planned social activities designed to provide the students with opportunities to interact with each other and with actual practitioners within their disciplines.

Who's Eligible?

To be eligible for the PIECES program, applicants must meet the following qualifications:

United States citizenship

New freshman or new community college transfer students in the fall semester

Admitted to SIUE

Planned full-time enrollment in one of the bachelor's degree programs offered in the SIUE School of Engineering

Demonstrated financial need, calculated as follows:

Unmet need = (Fall SIUE costs for students not living with their parents) -

(Estimated family contribution from the financial aid application) -

(Grants and scholarship aid)

Academic merit (evaluated via two teacher recommendations, high school class percentile ranking or community college GPA, and ACT math, English, and composite scores)

Communication skills and professional motivation (evaluated via two teacher recommendations and an academic and career goal essay)

Retention

Once accepted into the program, students must meet certain requirements in order to continue in the PIECES program:

Maintain a GPA of at least 2.5 every semester, with an overall GPA of at least 3.0.

Make satisfactory progress in their specific major within the School of Engineering.

They are also expected to participate in the monthly professional and social activities of the PIECES program.

Contact

For questions, please feel free to contact Ms. Joy Tedford at (618)650-2533 or e-mail SOEpieces@siue.edu.

The PIECES program is funded in part by Grant #DUE-0806608 from:

Additional support for the PIECES program is provided by:

Cannon Design	DRS Sustainment Systems, Inc.	EADS North America Defense Security & Systems Solutions, Inc.	Ehrhardt Tool & Machine Company, Inc.
Enterprise	ESS Data Recovery, Inc.	Gonzalez Companies, LLC	Illinois Society of Professional Engineers - St. Clair Chapter
The Korte Company	McCarthy Building Companies, Inc.	Nestlé Purina PetCare	Northstar Management Company
Oates Associates	Oller Engineering, Inc.	Perficient, Inc.	Tarlton Corporation