Simpson College has received a $586,784 grant from the National Science Foundation to provide four-year scholarships and other support for 15 students to study the sciences.

The award, given through the Foundation’s S-STEM program, is the largest that Simpson has received from the National Science Foundation and one of the largest federal grants received in the college’s 155-year history.

“This is a transformative event for Simpson College,” said Steve Griffith, senior vice president and academic dean. “Not only will it allow us to bring 15 deserving students to campus, it also will promote strengthened ties with private businesses, interdisciplinary faculty cooperation and more student opportunities across the board. Everybody wins.”

The National Science Foundation received more than 400 applications from across the country for the Scholarship in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (S-STEM) grants; Simpson was among about 100 institutions to receive awards.

The grant will provide $8,400 annual scholarships for 15 academically talented and financially needy STEM students, as well as provide targeted programs and services to those students from their first day on the Simpson campus to their graduation.

The first year of the program will be devoted to planning and recruitment activities. When the students enroll in the fall of 2016, they will receive the annual scholarship, as well as a one-week bridge program prior to their freshman year, mentoring from local STEM-related companies and a first-year computational modeling colloquium.

In addition, the Simpson students will be offered a one-credit course each semester during which they will solve industry-generation problems posed by their mentors from private industry.

A number of major Greater Des Moines employers, among them EMC Insurance Group, IMT Group, Principal Financial Group and Shazam, have committed to providing internship and mentoring opportunities for the scholarship recipients. Additionally, Iowa State University will provide mentoring opportunities to those students interested in graduate school.