ABOUT OUR PROGRAM
Oregon Pathways to Industry Research Careers (OPIRC) is a $4.3M National Science Foundation grant that will support 64 students with financial need as they move through community college to high-wage science and engineering careers.
Students may qualify for up to $45,000 in scholarships over the course of 4 years, with eligibility beginning their final year at community college, continuing through their pursuit of a bachelor’s in physics, chemistry or biochemistry at University of Oregon, and finally while pursuing an industry-focused master’s through the UO Knight Campus Graduate Internship Program (KCGIP).
In addition to scholarships, students will have access to:
- Career and academic mentoring.
- Community-building activities.
- Professional networking opportunities.
The final stage of OPIRC, enrollment in the KCGIP, leads directly to industry employment through a 9-month paid industry internship within the manufacturing, high-tech and healthcare fields (specifically: semiconductors, optics, polymers, sensors, and bioinformatics). The 2022 cohort received offers from companies such as Thermo Fisher Scientific, MKS Instruments, Intel, Lockheed Martin Corporation and Lawrence Livermore National Labs. The average annualized compensation was $74,500.
Start Your Pathway Today
Questions? Contact Meridith Turnbull at meridith@uoregon.edu
Oregon Pathways to Industry Research Careers (OPIRC) is an NSF-funded program.
