The University of Nebraska is offering at least $8,000 a year in scholarships to students interested in working in areas where Nebraska needs them most.

The new scholarships will be offered starting in January 2021 at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, University of Nebraska at Omaha and other institutions.

Incoming freshman and transfer students with strong academic potential who are interested in careers in fields such as engineering, mathematics and computer information systems are eligible. Recipients are required to complete a Nebraska-based internship before they graduate.

The scholarships were created by the Nebraska Career Scholarships Act proposed by Gov. Pete Ricketts in January and passed by the Legislature in August.

“Supporting our students and growing our workforce are top priorities here at the state’s flagship, land-grant institution,” UNL Chancellor Ronnie Green said. “The Nebraska Career Scholarships Act provides a much-welcomed tool that will further enable the university to strengthen our Nebraska communities, while transforming lives and learning.”

The scholarships will be offered to undergraduate students at all four University of Nebraska institutions – UNL, UNO, the University of Nebraska at Kearney and Omaha’s University of Nebraska Medical Center. Approved as Legislative Bill 1008, the initiative allocates $2 million per year to the NU system for undergraduate students pursuing high-demand careers to help fill critical workforce needs. LB 1008 also allocated scholarship funds to state and community colleges.

“We want to ensure that our students’ Maverick spirit remains undeterred as they achieve their higher education goals and the Nebraska Career Scholarship is simply one of the best tools we have to support that mission,” UNO and UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold said. “Not only will this provide our student access to exceptional opportunities, but it will also allow them to be exceptional leaders for our city and state in the future.”

At UNL, students in the following eliable majors will be considered for the scholarship program: agricultural engineering, athletic training, biological systems engineering, civil engineering, communication science disorders, computer engineering, computer science, construction engineering, electrical engineering, mathematics, mechanical engineering and software engineering.

For more information on the scholarships from UNL, visit go.unl.edu/ne-career-freshmen or go.unl.edu/ne-career-transfer. For more information from UNO, visit bit.ly/3fuXDl5.