The Promoting Excellence, Scholarship, and Retention in STEM (PERSIST) project is a single institution project in the College of Arts and Sciences funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) S-STEM program grant #213050 (2022-2027). The focus of the PERSIST project is to recruit financially disadvantaged and academically talented undergraduate students (PERSIST Scholars) majoring in Physics (among other STEM majors) at Tuskegee University (TU) and provide them with the academic support and skills necessary to persist and complete a Bachelor’s Degree in Physics. Scholarships of up to $10,000 for up to four years are available for qualifying students who maintain eligibility during their degree program at TU. For more information please visit:
NSF Scholarships in STEM programs
Applicants to the PERSIST Program interested in obtaining a Physics degree must meet the following criteria:
1. Be citizen of the United States, national of the United States, alien admitted as refugees, or alien lawfully
admitted to the United States for permanent residence.
2. Be enrolled full time in, or accepted to the academic Physics program
3. Demonstrate financial need each semester, as determined by the Office of Financial Aid according to the rules
of the US Department of Education.
4. Demonstrate academic talent, persistence, motivation, leadership skills through:
i) Two letters of recommendation (send to: tupersist@gmail.com), preferably from current and/or past instructors.
ii) Personal essay: Discuss a challenge you faced and how you overcame it. (500-800 words)
All applicants to the PERSIST Program must fill out and submit an online application found at: