WASHINGTON, Pa. (June 10, 2014)—Washington & Jefferson College (W&J) junior Ryan Wehrle has been awarded a scholarship to attend Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL) in the fall as a participant in the Dual Degree Program. Designed to combine the strengths of a liberal arts education and a specialization in a field of engineering, through the Dual Degree Program Wehrle will earn a bachelor of arts degree from W&J and a bachelor of science degree from WUSTL.
Students in the program spend three years at W&J and two years at an engineering school. The Harold P. Brown Fellowship provides Wehrle, a graduate of Trinity High School in Washington, Pa., with half of his tuition for the two years of engineering school.
The Harold P. Brown Fellowships are merit scholarships for dual degree students who excel both academically and in co-curricular achievements. The Dual Degree Program is an attractive alternative to traditional engineering curricula. Program graduates have strong communication and problem-solving skills, a broad background in the humanities and social sciences, and a high-quality technical education. Fifty-eight students applied for the Brown Scholarship. One student was selected for the full-tuition Fellowship, and eight other students joined Wehrle as finalists and were given the half-tuition scholarships.
Wehrle will enter the systems science program at WUSTL, a discipline concerned with the integration of multiple interrelated systems.
“My father is an engineer and I do miss the sciences,” Wehrle said. “This is a way I can incorporate economics in a problem-solving way in engineering.”
Wehrle had to write an essay in the Fellowship application process and submit two letters of recommendation.
“I had Ryan in class and he had a perfect attendance record; he participated in class regularly and did incredibly neat and organized work on homework, exams and quizzes. His Dean’s List recognition and Beta Scholar award all speak to his intellectual abilities. Ryan is also a very engaging and pleasant personality,” said Michael Woltermann, Ph.D., professor of mathematics at W&J. “He has the ambition of getting a BA in economics from W&J and an engineering degree from Washington University. Ryan is easily one person in recent memory who has the drive and ability to succeed in both.”
