Current and future students at the university could soon get some help paying tuition because of a grant given to two university programs.

The National Science Foundation recently awarded the UW-Eau Claire mathematics and computer science departments a $400,000 grant that will be used to help develop the Excellence in Mathematics and Computer Science Scholarship Program (EMACS).

Michael Howe, assistant professor of mathematics, developed EMACS with Andrew Phillips, professor of computer science, and Alex Smith, associate professor of mathematics.

Most of the grant money will go towards scholarships for students in the mathematics and computer science programs, Howe said.

“The preliminary plan is to support some students who are already enrolled in the program,” he said, adding that freshmen entering the program would also receive scholarships.

The EMACS coordinators applied for the grant in February, Howe said. The program was notified about receiving the grant on Sept. 9.

Chris Lind, assistant vice chancellor for research, said that the grant is good until August 2006. The grant will award 4-year scholarships to 29 students, he said.

Students will be awarded scholarships based on financial need and academic potential, Lind said. Students who receive a full-year scholarship will be able to renew the scholarship if they remain in good financial standing.

Along with the grant from the NSF, the UWEC Foundation also gave $100,000 to support the program, Lind said.

Any extra money will be used to ensure students who are involved with the program will receive tuition scholarships for all four years of their college education, Howe said.

None of the $400,000 grant comes from taxpayer money, he said, explaining that it comes from fees companies pay for visas for foreign workers.

The scholarship is designed to help recruit students into the university’s math and computer science programs, Howe said.

“This is a recognition of the strength of our program,” he said. “This will allow us to recruit better students into the program.”

The first of the $3,125 scholarships will be awarded for the fall, 2003 semester.

Students will be able to apply for the scholarships when the program gets the paperwork squared away, Howe said.

While the vast majority of the grant will go towards student scholarships, Lind said that a small portion will go towards paying for things like faculty and student mentoring.