SEAM – Scholars in Engineering And Management

Think Cross-Functionally

Today, intense competition is forcing companies to find new ways to deliver innovative products and services to market faster and cheaper. This need is breaking down the barriers that separated the engineering and business functions, replacing them with cross-functional teams composed of engineering and management personnel.

The Scholars in Engineering and Management program (SEAM) is designed to complement your chosen business or engineering major. The program brings together undergraduate business and engineering students to participate in an integrated program in which students learn to work together.  As a SEAM Scholar, you are eligible to enroll in specially designed courses and are challenged to expand your professional horizons by working in cross-functional teams with other high achievement-oriented students.

Perks of the SEAM Program

SEAM program participants enjoy greater access to and recognition from corporate partners.  They participate in programming that develops awareness of the importance of leadership skills, international awareness, and corporate citizenship.  On campus, SEAM students are eligible for smaller classes with top faculty members in both the engineering college and the Gatton College of Business and Economics.  Furthermore, students receive personal advising and support from SEAM co-directors.  SEAM students are eligible for early class registration and early move-in to dorms.  As SEAM students, you have the opportunity to live in Ingels Hall and participate in The SEAM LLC, a living-learning community for students interested in engineering and business. To find out more about this opportunity, click here.  Although the SEAM program carriers no additional undergraduate scholarship money, most engineering students in SEAM receive continuing scholarships through the College.  SEAM engineering graduates are the first to be considered for the BS/MBA program.   At the graduate level, substantial scholarship money is available to SEAM engineering graduates for the pursuit of an MBA.   http://www.engr.uky.edu/programs/bsmba/

Eligibility

The SEAM Honors program is open to exceptional first year business and engineering students who seek to develop a comprehensive understanding of the new business and technology models dominating today’s marketplace.

To be eligible for admission into the SEAM program, you must be an incoming freshman with an un-weighted high school grade point average of 3.5 or above or have an ACT score of 28 or higher (or SAT score of 1240 or higher). In addition to academic performance, applicants will be evaluated on their leadership experiences and ability to work in team settings as reflected in extracurricular activities. Interest in engineering and management will be judged through a required essay. Students who meet the above criteria are invited to apply to the program by filling out a short application form as well as forwarding a high school transcript and their ACT scores. Enrollment in the program will be limited to 40 business and engineering students.

SEAM Courses

 As mentioned above SEAM students have access to and are required to take special classes.  In some cases these classes will count as technical electives, satisfy GenEd requirements, or simply be extra classes that need to be fit into an already tight engineering schedule.  Freshman academic advisors or your SEAM advisor will be able to give you a long term plan and answer any questions.   We find that engineering students with substantial hours of AP credit are the only ones who manage the engineering degree program in four years; at least one extra semester is the norm.

Freshman Year

During the fall semester, SEAM students enjoy Technology: Blessing or Curse? -a course that uses the acclaimed PBS series, Connections, as a blueprint to explore the surprising twists and turns that technological innovation has taken through the centuries and its impact on the very fabric of society. In the spring semester, the focus turns to The Business Enterprise, a course that includes topics such as: strategic planning, new product development, product engineering, operational planning including organizing, human resources management, accounting and management information systems, marketing, finance, supply chain management, and stakeholder relations.

Sophomore Year

Your fall semester sophomore year will focus on understanding the context in which business and technology operate. In The Engineering Enterprise students gain an understanding of how engineering and technology are fundamental to successful companies. Several excursions to local corporate examples are included; a team project on sustainability is completed.  The opportunity to see manufacturing firsthand on field trips and hear outside speakers discuss their experiences will help students understand the direct correlation between classroom learning and workplace team dynamics.  In the spring, attention turns to Entrepreneurship and Venture Creation,  a class designed to offer students a sound theoretical and practical understanding of entrepreneurship and the new venture creation process. Throughout this course, real cases and real entrepreneurs (i.e. Entrepreneur-Mentors—EMs) are used to complement the theoretical discussions on entrepreneurship.

Junior Year

Understanding Real-World Processes

In your junior year you are required to participate in a formal co-op rotation, an internship, or an international experience in a technology based organization.  There is a great deal of help available in finding and securing these positions.  You will find that employers are very interested in you as a SEAM student and these positions are generously paid.  In the spring, you will take Lean Systems to learn how to engineer better business processes and remove waste by using state-of-the-art simulation software and studying problems drawn from industry.

Senior Year

SEAM Capstone Project:  Problem Analysis and Solution   This course is designed to provide students with an interdisciplinary experience in identifying, analyzing, and solving an actual business problem.  Students are divided into small interdisciplinary teams comprised of engineering and business and economics students. Each team is paired with a Lexington-area business and with an individual from that business established as the contact person. The business representative will have identified an area, issue, or problem of concern that needs to be addressed. The student team will function as a consulting team that will examine and analyze the particular concern and develop recommendations to address it.

Living-Learning Community

SEAM students are encouraged to live on-campus as part of the Business and Engineering Living-Learning Community, The SEAM Community.

The SEAM Community is a residence hall community that brings college learning into the everyday lives of students. It offers students the opportunity to live with other students who share common interests. These communities offer special programming in the residence halls and opportunities to interact with UK faculty and staff who are affiliated with the Living-Learning Community.

Applying to the Scholars in Engineering and Management (SEAM) Program

In order for the reviewers to get a more complete picture of applicants, the application process includes an essay question as well as scholastic statistics. Priority application deadline is February 1 for full consideration. The online application is now available.

Contact Us

For more information on applying to the Gatton College of Business and Economics Scholars in Engineering and Management Program, please contact:

Donna Hewett
Engineering Student Service
289 Ralph G. Anderson Building
University of Kentucky
Lexington, KY 40506-0503
859.257.8864
Email

or

Lauren Goodpaster
Director of Leadership
235 Gatton College of Business & Economics
University of Kentucky
Lexington, KY 40506-0034
859.257.4628
Email