March 28, 2024

Summer Scholars Get College Credit

Summer Scholars

Area rising high school juniors and seniors can get a taste of college over the summer through the new College of Southern Maryland Summer Scholars Program. Forward-thinking high school students can earn college credit while they take an in-depth look at an area of interest, including robotics, cybersecurity, and American music.

“The Summer Scholars Program is intended for the high-achieving high school student who is looking for a challenging and fun environment over the summer,” said Brian Hammond, CSM director of admissions. “CSM recognized that this area has a large number of rising high school juniors and seniors who want to get a jumpstart on college by earning three college credits. We are offering three different academies with the college-bound student in mind.”

Summer Scholars classes are set from July 10 through 27, with classes meeting Monday through Thursday and special activities, field trips, and/or guest speakers on Fridays.

“The program blends small, interactive, on-campus classes with extended learning activities designed to prepare the student for college success,” Mr. Hammond said. “There will be seminars, workshops, and social activities where students can meet and study with other talented high school students from around the region. It is a great way to experience college life even before leaving high school.”

Summer Scholars is a wise investment for students who will go to college after high school graduation. In three engaging weeks, students earn three college credits and are taught by division faculty in their area of interest.

If they attend the Robotics Academy, students will learn basic principles of robotics. Using a hands-on approach, professors introduce basic concepts, focusing on the construction and programming of remotely controlled and autonomous robots. Students build and test complex robots, then do an end-of-semester robot project.

Cybersecurity Academy classes cover the fundamentals of operational security, network security, managing a public key infrastructure (PKI), authentication, external attack, access control, and cryptography. Students will learn security procedures to protect data in computer environments, different scenarios of network attack, tools, and procedures used by organizations to protect resources and the ethical issues raised by computer security in the business world.

American Music Academy students will consider why American music sound is American. The course will cover musical elements (tone quality, rhythm, harmony, melody, and improvisation), historical content, political forces, psycho-social factors, spiritual uses, and economic dimensions.

Summer Scholars students also participate in college readiness workshops, attend a full-day field trip that relates to the topic of their academy, get access to the CSM fitness center and pool, and interact with other talented high school students.

“The CSM Summer Scholars Program offers Southern Maryland high school students the opportunity to earn college credits, while engaging in extended learning and campus life activities preparing them for college success,” said Nancy Ingwalson, CSM student engagement coordinator.

The application process is simple. Students complete and submit the online application and provide a high school transcript and letter of recommendation from a high school teacher. An academic average of 3.0 or better is required. Admission is competitive and contingent upon space availability.

Applications are being accepted now, and the application deadline is June 2.

Program cost is between $399 and $460, depending on which academy is selected. Public high school students may be eligible for a Dual Enrollment Pell Grant. For more information regarding this option, contact CSM’s Financial Assistance Department at [email protected].

For more information and an application, visit CSM’s website.

For more about the College of Southern Maryland, visit its Leader member page.

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