STEM Education

Be WorldsAhead

Today’s students are creating the future. 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 our students to become. At FIU, our

students are surrounded by the educational and career opportunities needed

to achieve their 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. Our students immerse themselves 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, our students explore a breathtaking array of real-life

opportunities inside and outside the classroom. We challenge them to think

differently. Go beyond what is expected. Take the opportunity they’re given

and do something great with it. Be WorldsAhead.

STEM Education at FIU

Graduates of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM)-related

programs are in high demand. In fact, a 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 allows our students to build a lasting sense of community

with one another and their teachers. Together they’re creating unforgettable

undergraduate experiences that leave our students well positioned for the next

phase of their education and career.

At FIU, education

doesn’t stop at the

edge of campus.

South Florida is a living laboratory.

Our students immerse themselves

in the lessons of our local

communities.

Florida International University offers inspiring undergraduate research experiences

in STEM-related disciplines. The time our students

spend conducting research will be the most exhilarating

of their undergraduate careers. It will open their eyes

and minds to opportunities and careers they didn’t

know existed. It will change their lives and their view

of the world. And they’ll graduate knowing they can

contribute in their own unique way to the solving of

the world’s greatest challenges and deepest mysteries.

FIU faculty conduct groundbreaking research, and our

students work 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.

re-imagining a better future. The goal

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

creating newer, more resilient materials or improving the

way we commute. FIU faculty are pushing the boundaries

of discovery through interdisciplinary research to improve

medical tools for diagnostics. Students and researchers

in biomedical engineering are working on neuro-enabled

protheses that can transmit the sensation of touch. This

focus on sensory feedback is unique among prostheses

research being conducted today. And students in the College

of Engineering and Computing, working alongside faculty,

conducted research that resulted in changes to the latest

Florida Building Code. The new code is making structures

stronger and better able to withstand hurricane-force winds.

“Just after one semester here, I have done hands-on research, providing me with both practical and theoretical knowledge that will help me in my path as an engineer.”

extreme education. 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. First applied in the Department

of Physics, Modeling Instruction abandons traditional lecture

and assigned reading approaches to teaching in favor of a

classroom that’s a working laboratory. This is just one of the

ways FIU is challenging traditional learning. Peer-Led Teaching

Learning (PLTL) is another. Used in biological sciences courses,

student volunteers augment faculty course instruction by leading

weekly study workshops. The program is so popular that FIU

now runs one of the largest PLTL programs in the country. QBIC

(Quantifying Biology in the Classroom) is another example of FIU

challenging the status quo. This highly selective undergraduate

premedical and biology scholarship program develops critically

minded, holistic students. Faculty in biology, math, chemistry,

statistics, physics, computer sciences and biomedical engineering

collaborated in creating this program, which equips students with

non-biological tools to make them better researchers.

technology support. 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 engagement. FIU encourages

students to become

agents of change. By

engaging deeply with

the world and interacting with local and global communities in relationships

and activities, faculty and students are bridging the gap between theory and

practice. In an initiative called “The Education Effect,” FIU, JPMorgan Chase

and Miami-Dade County Public Schools are partnering to transform lives

in one of South Florida’s most impoverished communities. The partnership

is bringing together the intellectual resources of a research university, the

investment of a major corporation, the commitment of the nation’s fourth

largest school district and the dazzling potential of thousands of young

minds. At FIU, the goal is to provide hands-on community engagement

experiences from the outset of our students’ education. This approach

empowers them to be Worlds Ahead.

“I’ve been able to actively participate in the workings and developments of specific research projects, with my individual input never being ignored or undervalued.”

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.

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 allow undergraduate students to

be contributing members of research teams. Opportunities like this are

available throughout the university. A highlight of the Herbert Wertheim

College of Medicine’s curriculum is the Green Family Foundation

NeighborhoodHELP (Health Education Learning Program), an immersion

program that sends interdisciplinary teams of students into communities

of need. Students track and monitor the health of a number of families

throughout 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.

“In my nuclear physics class, we studied how MRI machines work, exploring what happens at the cellular level with humans. It was really intense.”

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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