Frequently Asked Questions
How do you join Inventis?
What happens after your first two years?
What is a faculty mentor?
Who are the mentors?
What happens in the seminars?
Can I participate in Honors and Inventis?
Inventis is an invitation program. Invitations typically are sent in mid-March, and students have until May to confirm their participation. However, there are also limited spaces available for students to apply. If you were not invited but are interested in participating in Inventis, please contact rrose4@umd.edu for an application.
What happens after your first two years?
While the formal portion of Inventis ends after your sophomore year, juniors and seniors are still invited to participate in community building events such as the Opening Dinner, Annual Lecture, End of the Year Picnic, and Alternative Spring Break Program. Students are also encouraged to maintain relationships with their faculty mentors. In addition, Inventis is a stepping stone to the Minor in Engineering Leadership Development. Inventis students have the opportunity to earn up to six credits that are applicable towards the minor during their first and second years.
In their junior and senior years, Inventis students often participate in programs around campus, such as Ambassadors, QUEST and Hinman CEOs. They also engage in teaching fellowships and participate on research teams. Finally, Inventis students frequently take on leadership roles within campus and engineering student organizations.
In general, a mentor is an individual, typically older, always more experienced, who helps and guides another individual's development. Inventis defines a mentor as a faculty member who encourages students' success by supporting them academically, developmentally, and socially. We believe that mentoring facilitates a student's personal and professional development through networking and the sharing of resources, skills, and perspectives.
Inventis mentors are distinguished Clark School faculty members, ranging from assistant professors to department chairs. Click here for a list of current mentors.
There are three seminars students enroll in during their first two years. Each seminar is one credit. Two are taught by the Inventis Coordinator and one is taught by the Associate Dean for Education. In fall of the first year, students take ENES 160: Inventis Colloquium. In spring of the first year, they take ENES 170: Professional Concepts in Engineering. Finally in fall of the second year, students take ENES 270: Professional Skills in Engineering. For more information about the seminars, click here.
Can I participate in Honors and Inventis?
YES! Each year, several students participate in Inventis along with Honors and College Park Scholars. In the past, Inventis students have also been participants in Gemstone and the Women in Engineering Living Learning Community. Bioengineering sophomore Allon Meizlik shares, "As a member of both the Inventis and University Honors Programs, I can confidently say that both have been an integral part of my time at Maryland. Not only is it extremely manageable to participate in both programs, but they both add a distinct component to one’s education. These programs make students more insightful and perceptive. The coursework is definitely reasonable to manage—all Honors classes and seminars are completely optional. I recommend participation in both programs; they have both made my engineering education at the University of Maryland truly unique."
