scholarships - Office of Professional Practice - Purdue University

The Office of Professional Practice takes pride in providing undergraduate students who participate in our programs the opportunity to win scholarship funding. Scholarships through the Office of Professional are possible through generous donations from our donors.

Scholarships will be awarded annually. Eligible students will be notified via email. Applicants selected for awards will be notified and recipients will be awarded in the following semester. (If on co-op or GEARE experience, award will be distributed the next time they are on campus.)

Did you have a meaningful and productive Co-op experience?

The Office of Professional Practice has an award for Purdue Engineering Co-op Student of the Year.

The Undergraduate Co-op Student of the Year will earn a $2,000 scholarship/stipend.

To be eligible for the award:

• Have registered for a co-op course and completed a co-op experience during spring, summer or fall
• Have completed at least two co-op work terms with the same employer and registered for a co-op course during each experience

To apply:

• Submit a one-page statement describing your experience and the value the experience has on your career path and/or personal life. Also, explain the impact you made for your employer.
• Submit one or two letters of reference from those at your workplace who can attest to the impact you made for your employer (must be a full-time employee).

Award winners will be honored at the Professional Practice Hall of Fame event.

Did you have a meaningful and productive internship experience?

The Office of Professional Practice has an award for Purdue Engineering Intern Student of the Year.

The Undergraduate Intern Student of the Year will earn a $1,000 scholarship/stipend.

To be eligible for the award:

• Have registered for an internship course and completed an internship experience during spring, summer or fall.
• Internships may include experiences in industry, government or non-profit sectors. They may also include experiences in university or government research labs for which students registered for credit or registered for a zero-credit internship/research course.

To apply:

• Submit a one-page statement describing your experience and the value the experience has had on your career path and/or personal life. Also, explain the impact you made for your employer.
• Submit one or two letters of reference from individuals at your workplace who can attest to the impact you made for your employer (must be full-time employees).

Award winners will be honored at the Professional Practice Hall of Fame event.

Established in 2007, four scholarships honor the memory of the Leonard E. Wood. Wood received his PhD from Purdue University in 1956 and subsequently joined the faculty as a professor of civil engineering. In 1989, he became the School of Civil Engineering faculty coordinator for Purdue’s Cooperative Education Program, a role he held until he died in 2004.

Cooperative education never had a greater friend, supporter or advocate. Few individuals better exemplified the value of practical education as a mentor, counselor and teacher.

The scholarship fund exists thanks to a generous donation from Wood’s widow, Margaret, who sought to honor his dedication to the Co-op Program while enabling the success of today’s co-op students.

The Leonard E. Wood Scholarship for Cooperative Education is awarded to deserving co-op students based on academic merit and the life-changing experiences gained through the Co-op Program.

William and Linda Nelson have been long-standing, generous supporters of Purdue’s Co-op Program. William (Bill) graduated from Purdue University in 1974 with a BS in chemical engineering and earned an MS in chemical engineering one year later.

With more than 40 years of industry experience, Bill Nelson has received numerous awards recognizing his professional accomplishments. Most notably, he was inducted into the Cooperative Education Hall of Fame in 2013 and was honored as Purdue University’s Outstanding Chemical Engineer in 2017.

The Nelsons established an endowment fund in November 2011, which was amended in December 2017. The purpose of the amendment was to encourage participation in the Co-op Program and help reduce students’ time to graduation.

Efforts to establish, support and maintain this goal led to the creation of annual scholarships for co-op students. In addition, incentive grants have been provided to instructors offering on-campus and/or online courses for co-op students in support of these objectives.

Office of Professional Practice alumni in co-op and GEARE programs continue to be generous supporters for the student experience. The OPP Impact Scholarship is supported by various alumni and employer contributions and is awarded yearly. These awards are given to OPP students who demonstrate excellence and involvement in work-integrated learning.