Tennessee Governor's Schools for the Sciences and Engineering

Check out our Summer 2024 Recap Newsletter for a reflection on our 2024 GSSE, updates for 2025 GSSE, and other UT Pre-College STEM Programs!

📰 UTK Pre-College Research Excellence Programs: Summer Newsletter 📢☀🍦 Pre-College Research Excellence Programs (PREP) are research-focused programs for Tennessee middle and high school students geared to promote STEM disciplines. Participating in any PREP program encourages students to pursue careers and a lifelong passion for STEM. Each program is hosted at the Unive...

Now that we have had time to reflect on 2024 Tennessee Governor's Schools for the Sciences and Engineering, we want to wish a big congratulations to our 2024 Scholars! Another great year is in the books and we are back to planning and improving for 2025 GSSE!

For a complete list of our 2024 GSSE Cohort: https://gsse.utk.edu/students/2024-gsse-scholars/

A day in the life of a GSSE student means class lectures, projects, field trips, quality time with the faculty and TAs, touring UT lab facilities, afternoon programming with the RAs, weekend excursions around the surrounding area, eating meals with friends, and just enjoying their time on Rocky Top! 🍊🧡

WELCOME TO ROCKY TOP! 🍊🤍
On Sunday, June 2nd we welcomed the 2024 Scholars of the Governor’s School for the Sciences and Engineering!

This year, we had 953 nominations, 628 applications and invited 119 to attend our summer program. The students have been super busy meeting their RAs, TAs, faculty members, exploring the campus, eating at Rocky Top Dining, touring ORNL, touring UT labs, enjoying excursions to Dollywood, Anakeesta, Knoxville Adventure Collective, Main Event, hearing from top scientists and engineers, dancing in the UT Gardens, working out in the T-REC gyms (takes breath) and that’s the first two weeks 😤… See more

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville will be closed on Monday, January 15th in observance of Martin Luther King Day.

Application Deadline Reminders:
Governor’s School for the Science and Engineering (GSSE): January 15, 2024

GSSE Applicants: We can only accept updated transcripts from your school counselor. Please have them email us at [email protected].

If you have any concerns regarding your GSSE application, teacher recommendations or parent verification form, please contact us [email protected] and we will get back to you at our earliest convenience.

Thank you,
2024 GSSE Team

Happy New Year! Please be advised that our GSSE application deadlines are quickly approaching!

Governor's School for the Sciences and Engineering (GSSE):
Apps Due: Monday, January 15, 2024
Website: https://gsse.utk.edu/

The Resident Assistant applications for the 2024 Governor's School for the Sciences and Engineering:
Apps Due: March 1, 2024
Google Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdBHalE_PYGUSpk_eHq98AUsi8ve4o5HNdpogjFBuI4oOIcqw/viewform?usp=sf_link

Governor's School for the Sciences and Engineering (GSSE) runs from June 2- 29, 2024. Training for Resident Assistants (RA) starts May 30, 2024.

The compensation for this summer is $2,100, including room, board, and parking permit.

Desired qualifications include 1) GSSE alums or have worked with GSSE as an RA, 2) enrolled at UTK, 3) previous leadership experiences that will contribute to your role as an RA. Full details and role descriptions are provided in the application.

Both undergraduate and graduate students are welcome to apply. Because we want RAs to be knowledgeable about the collegiate experience, applicants must have completed at least one year in college before the beginning of the GSSE program. Each RA is responsible for supervising the residential life of approximately 10-12 students. Due to the inequitable labor of those who were both RAs and TAs in previous years, we highly encourage those applying to both positions to pick only one offer.

For new GSSE RAs, an interview will be scheduled if you are advanced to the next stage. Questions/concerns can be directed to the Pre-College Programs office at [email protected]. Applications (including two recommendations for new GSSE RAs) are due by March 1, 2024 at 11:59 PM EST.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us at [email protected]! 📩
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We are excited to announce that we are accepting applications for our Tennessee Governor's Schools for the Sciences and Engineering program, held at the University of University of Tennessee, Knoxville June 2-29! The deadline for rising high school sophomores and juniors (class of ‘26 and ‘27) to apply is Jan. 15, 2024.

Application Process:

Step 1: Nominating Counselor
Step 2: Student Application
Step 3: Teacher Recommendations
Step 4: Parent/Legal Guardian Verification

For full GSSE application details, check out our website: https://gsse.utk.edu/gsse-application/

Excursions, REC Center Adventures, Programs, Dinners, RAs, & Labs galore!!! 🍊🤍

Happy Week 4 GSSE! 🤍🍊

Today our students and RAs gathered in front of Ayres Hall to take the big group picture! 📸
🫶✌🏻

Can you believe we are almost done? Time has flown so quickly 😳!

Up next, talent show 🎹🎤 and ... PROM! 💃🏻🕺

Hey, y'all!! Happy Fri-Yay of Week 3! 🤍🍊

I applaud our resident staff for caring for the students during GSSE! Our team consists of GSSE alums and UTK RAs.

Special thanks to:
✨Emma Mutz
✨Andrew Goode
✨Keaundra Allen
✨Rethika Ambalam
✨Emery Stair
✨Katerina Scott
✨Bryse Vrolijk
✨Himesh Patel
✨Stephanie Nnaji
✨Blythe Clippinger
✨Brandon Meadows
✨Stephen Hay

During GSSE, RAs create a healthy environment that benefits the participants and allows them to grow as individuals and students. They are responsible for the well-being of all participants while being directly responsible for keeping your designated group of students (about 10-12 per RA) up to date and informed about upcoming events. Other job expectations would include:

Driving participants to classes and class trips.

Helping participants during mental and physical emergencies when necessary.

Working late night and overnight shifts organized by fellow RAs.

Acting as a peer and mentor through your words and actions.

Thank you for being such a great team!!! 🤍🍊

Full RA bios can be found on our GSSE website: https://gsse.utk.edu/staff/resident-assistants/

Welcome to Week 3 at Rocky Top! 🤍🍊

While the students always have a jam-packed schedule filled with distinguished speakers, museum and lab tours, and challenging homework assignments to complete, they still take a few moments to be a teenager during Governor’s School 🕺🎤

Here are some pictures from this past week!📸

Happy FRI-YAY from Rocky Top! 🤍🍊

Take a look at how the rest of Week 2 has been for our GSSE Scholars.

Between class lectures, UT lab tours, afternoon programs with the RAs and weekend excursions, our students stay super busy!

Welcome to Week 2 of GSSE! 🤍🍊

Last weekend the Scholars and their RAs were split into three excursion groups to go to Dollywood, WonderWorks and Ripley’s Aquarium.

Morning and afternoon classes are in full swing and the RAs are getting to know the students more through team building activities and programs! 👏🏻🙌🏻

This week the students will hear from distinguished guest speakers, the Chemistry class will tour ORNL, the Biology class will tour the McClung museum and then all the students will complete the second weekend excursion rotations.

It’s been a GREAT WEEK ON ROCKY TOP! 🍊🤍

On Sunday, June 4th, we welcomed the 2023 Scholars for the Governor’s School for the Sciences and Engineering!

This year, we had 777 applications and invited 123 to attend our summer program. The students have been super busy meeting their RAs, TAs, faculty members, exploring the campus, eating at Rocky Top Dining, touring ORNL, picnicking in the UT Gardens, working out in the T-REC gyms (takes breath) and that’s the first 5 days! 😤

Tomorrow, the Scholars split up into three excursion groups and head out to Dollywood, Ripley’s Aquarium, and WonderWorks! 🦋🐬🔬

Resident Assistant (RA) applications are OPEN!

Governor's School for the Sciences and Engineering (GSSE) runs from June 4- July 1, 2023. Training for Resident Assistants (RA) start June 1, 2023.

The compensation for this summer is $2,000, this includes food and housing. Desired qualifications include those who have attended/previously worked with GSSE, attend UTK, and have previous leadership experiences that will contribute to your role as an RA.

Both undergraduate and graduate students are welcome to apply. Because we want RAs to be knowledgeable about the collegiate experience, applicants must have completed a year in college. Each RA is responsible for supervising the residential life of approximately 12 students.

Full details and role descriptions are provided in the application. Complete your application by clicking here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeJS-1qbHBDA0lKKOY8lmFqh_13rlj9tZ_zcE6di3kABvdNgg/viewform?usp=sf_link

Last night, UTK incoming freshmen from the GSSE classes of 2020 and 2021 attended the 2022 GSSE Alumni Dinner 🧡. It was such joy seeing familiar faces again!

Students laughed and reminisced about their time in Gov school and shared their first-year experiences with us. It was heartwarming to hear their stories and watch them reconnect with fellow attendees. Again, congratulations on all your recent accomplishments as first-year students, and welcome to the Volunteer family! 🍊🤍

It's not good-bye, it's see you later!🙂😇 It's been too long since the 2022 GSSE class left Rocky Top. You all are surely missed! 🍊🧡

"Wish that they were back on Rocky Top, down in the Tennessee hills..." We sure are missing our 2022 GSSE students! Rocky Top isn't the same without you!

Today is the last full day of Gov School 2022! 🥺😢😭 Can you believe that it has come to this already?! It has been such a fun, exhilarating, emotional, HOT, fun in the SUN, educational, joyful, cheerful (insert all the emotions here) experience for our students!

But there is just one more event coming up tonight: PROM!
At prom, the students get to gather with all their friends, RAs and GSSE staff for one more gathering before they head back tomorrow morning. Let's take a moment to see how the journey has been! 🧡🤍

On 6/21 our Gov School students from the ISE class visited the College of Nursing HITs Lab! 👩‍⚕️ There they met up with the HITs lab staff Ricco Summeour, the Simulation Operation Specialist and Rachael Hodges, the Simulation Manager at the CON. 🍊🧡🤍

Yesterday our Gov Students visited 7 different lab tours! From 10:00AM - 12:00PM, the students had an opportunity to tour the following labs:

- UT Synthetic Cadaver
- UT Industrial & Systems Engineering
- UT 3D Folding of the Human Genome
- UT Infant Language and Perceptual Learning
- UT Civil & Environmental Engineering
- UT Zooarchaeology
- UT Chromosomes and Cell Division in Bacteria Cells

It's been such a pleasure having our Gov School students with us here at Rocky Top! There are officially two days left until the students depart! 😞 However, we know that the students have made forever friendships and gained valuable knowledge from their experience here! 🧡🤍🍊

Welcome to the FINAL WEEK of GOV SCHOOL 🥹😭! Do not fret, we still have plenty planned for this week though! It is such a pleasure seeing our students actively participating in their classes and with their TAs as well as the activities they do with their friends and RAs. Smiles floods to our faces when we see the grey GSSE lanyard as we witness our students genuinely enjoying their time here at Rocky Top. 🥰🧡🤍

Students also finished their weekend trip excursions at the Knoxville Zoo, Dollywood and the Chattanooga Aquarium!

A day in the life of a Gov Student is always busy but equally fun! This week, our students viewed the Night Sky, attended a chemistry open house, made smores at the Torchbearer, met our Starship food delivery bots, listened to a UT College Admission speech, took group photos at Ayres Hall, toured a FedEx facility, and participated in a Zoom call from the Antarctica Ice Cube Neutrino Observatory! *gasps for air* 😲😵‍💫

Today the biology students are taking a field trip tp the Gray Fossil Site and the MSE students are taking a tour to the UT Institute for Advanced Materials & Manufacturing.😆

Then on Saturday, we take on the final rotation of the weekend excursions to Dollywood 🦋, the Knoxville Zoo 🐯and the Chattanooga Aquarium 🐳! 🍊

Happy Photo Day! Our students, RAs, and THE Mrs. Susan Troop, took photos in front of Ayres Hall yesterday morning. On May 29th, 120 students from across TN gathered at UTK to participate in Gov School. Most were total strangers to each other. Now, we see how close everyone has gotten, the happiness they've experienced while on our campus and what it means to be 🍊🤍

Let's give a round of applause to our wonderful RAs for taking care of our Gov Students! 👏🧡🤍 Absolutely love these pictures from the past weekend excursions to Dollywood, the Knoxville Zoo and the Chattanooga Aquarium! Other pictures involve classroom time and lab tours!

GSSE activities are not just during the day! The 2022 GSSE students have had the opportunity to view Rocky Top by moonlight and use the telescopes on top of the Nielsen Physics building during the "Night Sky" presentation. 😎 There are so many more activities and so little time!

It is our favorite day of the week, FRIYAY! The Gov students experienced more lab tours that included the Machine Tool Research Lab, the Veterinary College, and the Chemistry lab! Also, THE Susan Peterson Troop came by and struck a pose with our students! This weekend, the students are rotating trip excursions to Dollywood, the Knoxville Zoo, and Chattanooga Aquarium. Busy busy! 🧡🤍😁

It's another GREAT DAY AT ROCKY TOP! Our students continue to have a fabulous time here at UT as they build friendships and experience what it means to be a VOL 🐶🧡🤍