BOSS Scholars

Overview

Wofford’s Building Opportunities for STEM Students (BOSS) Scholars program is funded through an award from the U.S. National Science Foundation to provide scholarships for academically talented STEM majors with demonstrated financial need. The program will provide resources that support the recruitment, retention, and graduation of BOSS Scholars. BOSS Scholars must major in biology, chemistry, computer science, mathematics, or physics with the stated goal of a career in a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) field. Pre-healthcare students are not eligible for this scholarship.

Each BOSS Scholar will be provided a renewable scholarship of up to $15,000 per year, a laptop, faculty and peer mentors, and other resources that will aid their academic success while at Wofford College. BOSS scholarships are stackable with other Wofford scholarships. Eleven students will be accepted into the program in the fall of 2027, with another 11 joining in the fall of 2028.

The goal of the program is to develop scholars to be critical thinkers and motivate them to start a career in a STEM field after graduation or to pursue a graduate degree in a STEM field.

Scholar eligibility

To be eligible to be a BOSS Scholar, students must:

Be a citizen of the United States, a national of the United States (as defined in section 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act), an alien admitted as refugees under section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act or an alien lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence.
Indicate an intent to major in one of the targeted STEM disciplines (biology, chemistry, computer science, mathematics or physics) on their scholarship application. Pre-healthcare students are not eligible for this scholarship.
Submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and have unmet need.
Have a student aid index (SAI) that is less than 135% of the maximum Pell grant amount.
Apply for admission to Wofford through the Common Application.
Have a high school GPA greater than or equal to 3.0.

All students who meet the project’s eligibility requirements will have an equal opportunity to receive scholarships.

Application considerations

Wofford evaluates applicants holistically based on recalculated high school GPA using only their academic core subject area courses for consideration (English, history/social studies, sciences, mathematics and foreign languages), course rigor, activities and involvement, the Common Application essay, and test scores (optional). Admitted students are notified and receive their financial aid packages from Wofford in early February each year.

Selection process

To be considered for the BOSS Scholars program, candidates must meet all eligibility criteria and complete a BOSS Scholars application by Jan. 15. The application form will ask students to indicate their intended major, discuss career goals and describe interest in the project activities. All qualified applicants will participate in a virtual or in-person interview and receive full consideration for the scholarship. Funding is available to cover travels expense for on-campus interviews.

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Scholar retention

To maintain their scholarship, each BOSS Scholar must declare their STEM major (biology, chemistry, computer science, mathematics or physics) by the end of their first year. Faculty mentors will monitor the scholar’s progress to ensure that they are on track to declare an eligible STEM major. To remain a BOSS Scholar, scholars also must continue to meet all requirements, including full-time enrollment, continuing unmet financial need, qualifying as low income within the SAI threshold and continuation in a targeted STEM major. Additionally, BOSS Scholars must maintain a Wofford cumulative GPA of 2.8 or higher.

Applicants interested in learning more about this program can send questions to BOSSscholars@wofford.edu.

About the NSF S-STEM Program

Learn more about the NSF S-STEM Program, which funds the BOSS Scholars program.