Programs

College Success Scholars creates a supportive structure that enables scholars to succeed at the University of Maryland as they overcome educational or social challenges that may arise.

Our core curriculum includes five components:

1. Summer Seminar
2. Road Map to Success
3. Individual Action Plan
4. UNIV100 Series
5. Professional Development Leadership Series.

Summer Seminar

The six-week summer seminar teaches scholars the meaning of diversity in a predominantly white institution. Scholars engage in dialogues, readings, field trips, and activities pertaining to higher education, oppression, values, leadership, time management, goal setting, public speaking, racial identity, and much more.

Nicole McDermott, Program Advisor, Education Abroad

Several top university administrators serve as guest speakers and provide scholars with access to University of Maryland resources. The summer seminar serves as a pivotal transition from high school to college for minority males while exposing them to various academic fields, personal and professional real-world issues, a support network, and a community of scholars and brothers.

Road Map to Success

The road map to success helps scholars see the path on which their undergraduate experience will take them, and to set academic and extracurricular goals. This road map paves the way for engagement in top tier post-graduate school and career opportunities as it guides scholars in developing exemplary resumés that include academic achievement, service learning, internships, research, fellowships, education abroad, and other extracurricular activities.

Individual Action Plan

During the first few weeks of every semester, each scholar meets with a graduate assistant to complete an individual action plan. During this consultation, scholars receive individualized support so they may have the most successful personal, professional, and academic outcomes for the academic semester. This may include tutoring, academic success workshops, and assigned study sessions.

This is a fundamental part of the CSS curriculum—scholars who fulfill their commitment to their plan are among the most successful scholars at the University of Maryland.

UNIV100 Series

The UNIV100 fall seminar builds on the summer seminar for incoming freshmen. While scholars are getting adjusted to college life, the UNIV100 seminar, led by Dr. Christopher A. Lester, facilitates the transition from high school to college. Seminar discussions include social, personal, and academic obstacles that scholars face on campus, in the classroom, and in campus housing. Scholars have the opportunity to discuss their academic successes and hurdles with their peers while gaining access to tools such as time management, organization, and study skills to build upon a strong academic semester.

Professional Development Series

The Professional Development Series is a semester seminar where scholars learn how to successfully navigate through the job search, application, interview, and networking processes in a professional environment while being mindful of the many workplace issues and stereotypes that minority men often encounter on the job. Scholars will hear personal accounts from workplace experts, CSS upperclassmen, and university officials about their professional experiences and discuss current events related to workplace diversity, discrimination, communication, ethics, harassment, and politics. By the end of the series, scholars come away with a more informed perspective on the issues that minority males face in the workplace and a framework of how to steer their careers in a successful and professional manner.