Experiencing Science Practices through Research to Inspire Teaching (ESPRIT)
University of Oregon Robert Noyce Scholarship Program
Halli Roussell, ESPRIT Scholar class of ’19, and other scholars talk about teaching. Click the image to see the video.
Link to Video about the ESPRIT Scholarships Program
The University of Oregon ESPRIT Program is designed to recruit, prepare, and support UO science majors for K-12 science teaching careers in high need school districts. The program addresses the need for highly qualified science teachers by supporting a summer science research experience, coursework in promoting equity and diversity in schools, and teacher community-building activities. ESPRIT is supported by the National Science Foundation’s Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program by a 5-year $1.2 million award. While the ESPRIT Program continues to support scholars, a new NSF award extends and expands the success of this effort; please visit the Noyce Scholarship Program webpage to learn more about the new MASTERIt – Mathematics and Science Teachers Engaging in Research to Inspire Teaching – Program.
Key elements of the program include:
1) Academic year ESPRIT Innovative Science Teaching Explorations, open to all science majors, featuring teacher guests and designed to model, explore, and discuss exemplary science classroom lessons in order to build and support a community interested in science teaching. This is the first step on the ESPRIT pathway, and participating students will be given priority when applying for #2 and #3 below. Applicants to the UOTeach Program may join the ESPRIT pathway as well – see #4 below.
2) ESPRIT-sponsored paid summer research experiences for science major undergraduates with an interest in teaching. These are available to rising sophomores or above, and are a pre-requisite to receiving:
3) Senior-year ESPRIT scholarships* of $10K, to finance students moving into the UOTeach Masters-level teacher licensure program, who will then become eligible for a:
4) UOTeach ESPRIT scholarship* of up to $22,000, to complete their teacher licensure. UOTeach applicants who have research experience will be considered for this one-year scholarship.
*Scholarships recipients will have up to 7 years after receiving licensure to teach 4 years (2 years per level scholarship) in a high need school district, or the scholarship becomes a loan. This is a feature of the NSF Noyce program.
ESPRIT participants take Education Studies (EDST 420 and others) courses as undergraduates that focus on teaching to improve equity and inclusion in science classrooms. These courses will count towards the UOTeach requirements when they enter that program.
Interested students should contact STEM CORE Coordinator Julia McMorran at uoespritnoyce@uoregon.edu.
In the News
2021 Scholars Honored at Signing Ceremony – Around The O story
Local news coverage of ESPRIT Scholarships Program
2019 Scholarship recipients featured in Around The O story
2019 Scholarship recipients featured in the Daily Emerald
Read about our first ESPRIT Scholarship recipients.
Biochemistry scholarship recipient featured.
The Truth about Teaching
Visit Get the Facts Out website and find user-friendly information to help understand teaching careers and dispel the myths about teaching.
Signing Ceremony
A virtual signing ceremony to recognize and celebrate our latest ESPRIT Scholarship recipients took place November 18th, 2021. Previous in-person events were held on November 19th, 2020, November 21, 2019, and November 6th, 2018.
Info Sessions
Please see the the Noyce Teacher Scholarships webpage to learn about upcoming opportunities.
Applications
While ESPRIT will not be supporting any further Summer Research Experiences, a new UO Noyce Teacher Scholarships Program, MASTERIt, is currently accepting applications for Summer 2023. Visit the Noyce Teacher Scholarships webpage to learn more and apply. Eligible UOTeach Program applicants will be invited to apply for the ESPRIT UOTeach Scholarship.