Engineering Student Success

The Successful Transition and Enhanced Preparation for Undergraduates Program (STEPUP) is a student success program sponsored through the Office of Student Transition and Retention, a unit of the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering (HWCOE). The program was created to provide first-year engineering students with an opportunity to begin their transition into the HWCOE prior to their first semester at UF.

First-year students admitted into STEPUP become part of a unique cohort of peer engineering students, program mentors, UF faculty mentors, and corporate sponsors. This cohort, in large part, forms the heart of the STEPUP experience, in addition to the rigorous program schedule and team-building activities.   

The STEPUP program contributes to HWCOE’s commitment to providing a diverse and inclusive learning environment for all of our students. The mission of the program is to promote the success of first-year engineering students, as well as, introduce participants to the following HWCOE educational outcomes:

•   Prepare students to communicate clearly and concisely in written and oral formats with audiences ranging from the technical to the uninformed
• Prepare students to be effective engineering practitioners with the ability to employ contemporary engineering techniques, skills, and tools that emphasize computer capability and the access and use of information resources.
• Prepare students to translate scientific, mathematical, and engineering theories into practical applications to engineering problems through classroom presentations, laboratory and other experimentation, data analysis, employment opportunities such as those offered by a co-op, internships, association with research projects, and other experiences.
• Prepare students to function as interdisciplinary team members and/or team leaders in addressing multi-dimensional engineering and social problems with ethical, public health, environmental, political, economic, and international dimensions.
• Prepare students to recognize engineering problems, to develop skills and strategies to solve such problems, to be competent to carry out relevant design processes, to recognize the need for considering alternative approaches to problem-solving and to understand the realities of what society will and will not accept as feasible solutions.
• Prepare students to be responsible practitioners with a complete understanding of the ethical and professional dimensions of good engineering practice and the need for lifelong learning.

Office of Student Transition and Retention 212 Weil Hall P.O. Box 116550 Gainesville, FL 32611-6550 352-392-0944. For questions about the STEPUP program, please email Mr. Stephen Roberts, STAR Office Director at, srobe@eng.ufl.edu