Every summer, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock George W. Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Technology hosts free summer camps to enrich the minds of middle and high school students through summer camps that are focused on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). 

Vernard Henley Jr., assistant dean of the College of Engineering and Information Technology, sees these camps as an important way to help students in fifth-through-11th grade stay interested in STEM areas and to major in one of these fields in college.  

“We are invested in adding diversity to the STEM pipeline. Thanks to our corporate partners, we are able to remove virtually all of the obstacles for students and their parents that prevent underserved students from learning about careers in STEM,” Henley said.

“All of our programs have a residential component and are free. We cover all necessary expenses for each admitted student, so there’s no reason why an interested student shouldn’t be able to attend one of our summer camps. Many students have the aptitude for engineering and computer science, but aren’t able to interact with someone from either discipline until they attend college. Students can’t be it if they don’t see it. ”

These programs are aimed to increase the number of students earning STEM degrees in Arkansas through exposure to hands-on projects, off-campus excursions, and interaction with industry. Additionally, each program includes counseling and advising sessions to assist students in preparing for college and features academic and lab sessions on various STEM disciplines.

The camps include the Civil and Construction Engineering Camp, the Computer Science Summer program, the EIT Middle School Summer Science Camp, Engineering Scholars program, Geology Camp, High School Research program, and Windstream’s Girls Coding Camp.

Applications for the summer camps are due April 19. Contact Ashley Henry-Saorrono at 501-569-8597 or alhenry@ualr.edu for more information.

The camps and their dates include:

Civil and Construction Engineering Camp

Dates: June 16-28
Grades: 8-11

Computer Science Summer Program

Dates: June 23-29
Grades: 8-11

Engineering Scholars Program

Dates: Session 1: June 16-22
Dates: Session 2: June 23-29
Grades: 8-11

EIT Middle School Summer Science Camp

Dates: Session 1: July 7-13
Dates: Session 2: July 14-20
Grades: 5-7

Geology Camp

Dates: June 9-15
Grades: 8-11

High School Research Program

Dates: July 7-26
Grades: 8-11

Windstream: Girls Coding Camp

Dates: July 21-26
Grades: 7-8