STEM Education

Be Worlds Ahead

You and your classmates will create the future. What will be your contribution?

Worlds Ahead is an attitude, one that commands each of us to think differently,

exceed expectations and create new possibilities. It’s what we challenge you to

become. At FIU, you will be surrounded by the educational and career opportunities

needed to achieve your dreams. Award-winning faculty. State-of-the-art research

facilities. A diverse student body. An incomparable location in one of America’s most

exciting cities.

Here education doesn’t stop at the edge of campus. South Florida is a living

laboratory. Immerse yourself in the lessons of our local communities. From the

seagrass of the Atlantic Ocean to the sawgrass of the Everglades, from the

boardrooms of downtown Miami to the operating rooms of area hospitals, get

ready to explore a breathtaking array of real-life opportunities inside and outside

the classroom. Think differently. Go beyond what is expected. Take the opportunity

you’re given and do something great with it.

Prepare to Be Worlds Ahead.

STEM Education at FIU Graduates of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM)-related programs

are in high demand. In fact, a 2010 report by the U.S. Department of Labor

identified STEM-related careers as some of the highest paying and reported

they have the greatest potential for job growth through 2018. With this in mind,

we’ve built upon our current research excellence in STEM-related disciplines and

expanded our university-industry partnerships.

Today FIU researchers are working together in record numbers, using a

multifaceted approach to solve society’s most important and complex problems.

Our faculty engage in life-altering research and mentor students who go on to

conduct their own. The smaller class size in many of our STEM-related programs

will allow you to build a lasting sense of community with other students and

your teachers. Together you will create your own unforgettable undergraduate

experience, one that will leave you well positioned for the next phase of your

education and career.

At FIU, education doesn’t stop at the edge of campus. South Florida is a living laboratory.

Immerse yourself in the lessons of our

local communities.

Florida International University offers

inspiring undergraduate research experiences in STEM-related disciplines.

The time you spend conducting research will be the most exhilarating of

your undergraduate career. It will open your eyes and mind to opportunities

and careers you didn’t know existed. It will change your life and your view

of the world. And you’ll graduate knowing you can contribute in your own

unique way to the solving of the world’s greatest challenges and deepest

mysteries. Learn about our faculty’s groundbreaking research and imagine

yourself working alongside them and other students in the lab and in the

field. At FIU, it’s not just about what we teach, but how we teach.

For more information, visit go.fiu.edu/stem.

engineering for the future. The goal of

engineering is to improve our quality of life, whether it’s

creating newer, more resilient materials or re-imagining the

way we commute. FIU faculty in biomedical engineering and

nanotechnology are pushing the boundaries of discovery

through interdisciplinary research to improve medical tools

for diagnostics and treatment. Students in the College of

Engineering and Computing are working with students from the

College of Architecture + The Arts to compete in the 2011 Solar

Decathlon, a competition that challenges students to design

the best solar-powered house. FIU is one of only 20 universities

invited to compete in the prestigious event.

modeling instruction.

First applied in the Department

of Physics, modeling instruction

abandons traditional lecture and

assigned reading approaches to

teaching. Instead, the classroom

becomes a working laboratory where students learn theory,

techniques and applications by hands-on activities. Students

at FIU don’t memorize the momentum equation. They collide

model cars and collect data to understand it. They don’t take

notes about electricity. They use magnets to generate voltage

and study it. Modeling instruction is a teaching method being

expanded in other sciences at FIU, teaching science by

students acting as scientists.

holistic education. QBIC (Quantifying

Biology in the Classroom) is transforming the way

FIU prepares future researchers. This highly selective

undergraduate premedical and biology scholarship

program develops critically minded, holistic students.

It was created through a collaboration of faculty in the

biological sciences, mathematics, chemistry, statistics,

physics, computer sciences and biomedical engineering,

to equip students with non-biological tools to make them

better researchers. QBIC students become more than

scientists, they become scholars.

technology. FIU equips students with

the latest technologies

to conduct research and

explore their fields of study.

Creators of the Wall of Wind have invented a device

that simulates hurricane-force winds. The most

powerful device of its kind in the world, the machine

is helping engineers design safer homes and giving

students hands-on research opportunities. Astronomy

students have access to telescopes at Kitt Peak

National Observatory in Arizona and the Cerro Tololo

Inter-American Observatory in Chile, allowing them to

explore both northern and southern hemisphere skies

without ever having to leave Miami. Students interested

in forensic science utilize the latest technologies in

explosives detection, DNA profiling, drug analysis,

forensic anthropology and much more. FIU’s earth

scientists are deploying state-of-the-art equipment

for better weather forecasting, to explore and improve

groundwater supplies, and to effect global climate

change. Geosciences students work in fully equipped

labs with on-site analytical facilities. In every field

of study, FIU provides the best technologies for all

students to experience a hands-on education.

community health. FIU’s

College of Medicine

has embraced

an educational

philosophy that

reflects an innovative,

21st Century

approach to health

care and medical

education. The highlight of its curriculum is the Green Family

Foundation NeighborhoodHELP (Health Education Learning

Program), an immersion program that sends interdisciplinary

teams of FIU students into communities of need. Students

track and monitor the health of a number of families

throughout the tenure of their education. The program

brings greater access to health services, personalized health

education and a distinctly personal touch to South Florida’s

most vulnerable communities. NeighborhoodHELP is

revolutionizing the way medical students are taught.

real world assistantships. The Center for Children and Families at FIU

is a premiere facility for children with mental

health problems and learning disabilities.

Undergraduate students can work in a true

clinical setting, gaining experience in the

field of child clinical psychology in exchange for class credit. The hands-

on, real world opportunities go beyond reading about research, allowing

undergraduate students to be contributing members of our research teams.

Opportunities like this are available throughout the university. At FIU, the goal

is to provide hands-on research opportunities and community engagement

experiences from the outset of your education. This approach empowers our

students to be Worlds Ahead.

living laboratories. Students in our marine

sciences, biology, chemistry, biochemistry, and earth and

environment programs benefit from the unique geography of

South Florida, which provides living laboratories literally in our

backyard. This includes the Florida Everglades, Florida Bay and

Biscayne Bay. Students also are given the opportunity to take

what they learn in unique ecosystems and become globally

engaged in projects all across the world including the Shark

Bay Ecosystem Project in Australia, coral reef research in the

Caribbean and the Global Water for Sustainability Program,

which is bringing clean, freshwater to the most needy places in

Africa, Asia and South America.

Florida International University11200 S.W. 8th StreetMiami, FL 33199

For general information, visit www.fiu.eduFlorida International University is an Equal Opportunity/AccessEmployer and Institution.

www.fiu.edu

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