A College of Southern Maryland graduate who spent two years building robots on the school’s competitive Talons team is now headed toward a career with the Department of Defense after landing one of the country’s most competitive STEM scholarships.
Michael McGrath graduated from CSM in May with an Associate of Science degree in engineering and will enroll this fall at the University of Maryland’s A. James Clark School of Engineering, based at the University System of Maryland at Southern Maryland campus, to pursue a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. To fund that next step, McGrath received a Science, Mathematics and Research for Transformation scholarship, a nationwide program funded by the Department of Defense that covers full tuition and pays scholars an annual stipend while committing them to future DoD employment.
“I am honored to have been selected for the SMART scholarship,” McGrath said. “This will help me to focus on excelling in college while getting an early start in my career. It’s a great blessing.”
Credit: College of Southern Maryland
The SMART program welcomed more than 600 new scholars nationwide for its 2025 cohort, drawn from 214 colleges and universities, with the majority pursuing bachelor’s degrees and the rest split between master’s and doctoral programs. Since the program’s creation, it has awarded more than 5,800 scholarships total, with roughly 91% of scholars successfully completing their commitment. The program traces back to a 2005 pilot before Congress permanently established it through the 2006 National Defense Authorization Act, and it has since grown into the Department of Defense’s largest education-to-workforce STEM initiative. In exchange for their funding, scholars must maintain a security clearance, complete summer internships, and accept a one-for-one service commitment as DoD civilian employees after graduation, for every year of funding they receive.
McGrath has already begun that internship track. As part of his scholarship, he started working this summer in the Summer Student Employment Program at Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head, gaining hands-on mechanical engineering experience in modeling, simulation and additive manufacturing. NSWC Indian Head, situated on a roughly 3,500-acre peninsula along the Potomac River, has developed a large share of the explosives used in U.S. military weapons systems and remains one of the region’s largest technical employers.
McGrath credited two CSM programs with preparing him for both the scholarship and the internship. He spent two years on the CSM Talons, the college’s nationally ranked competitive robotics team, which trains through the school’s Velocity Center facility near NSWC Indian Head. He also went through the Southern Maryland Engineering Partnership Program, which allows students to complete an associate degree in engineering at CSM before transferring into the University of Maryland at USMSM as juniors to finish a bachelor’s degree — with graduates potentially eligible for full-time positions afterward at Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division.
“The programs at CSM and USMSM are closely aligned so the transition will be as seamless as possible,” McGrath said. “My participation on the CSM Talons Robotics team the past two years has allowed me to apply skills I learned in the classroom to solve real-world challenges and develop a valuable skill set. My time at CSM was very beneficial to my academic and professional future.”
Christine Owens, coordinator of the engineering partnership program, said the pathway is designed with a dual purpose: helping students launch careers while keeping that talent working in Southern Maryland rather than leaving the region after graduation. “Engineering is a critical part of our regional workforce and culture,” Owens said. “There is a unique opportunity here for students to stay close to home and build a successful career in engineering. This partnership gives students a clear path to do that, while saving thousands of dollars in tuition and academic expenses.”
The partnership reflects years of investment CSM has made in engineering and technical training near the region’s Navy facilities, including the Velocity Center campus the college operates just outside NSWC Indian Head, which houses classrooms, a makerspace and the practice space used by the Talons robotics team.
Engineering students interested in following a similar path can apply for the SMART scholarship through the Department of Defense beginning Aug. 1 each year, with applications typically open through early December. CSM also offers a range of scholarship opportunities through the CSM Foundation, which the college encourages prospective and current students to explore for eligibility requirements and application details.
