Officials made the announcement at ACC’s Highland Campus on Feb. 18.
What you need to know
Samsung’s investment will help support scholarships, expand program resources and enhance student services for the Texas A&M Engineering Academy, according to a news release.
Additionally, the program can help students save up to $40,000 when they take up to four semesters at ACC, said Jon Taylor, Samsung executive vice president of infrastructure technology.
“This investment will make it easier and more affordable for students to get an engineering degree at one of the greatest schools in the country,” Taylor said.
About the program
The academy allows students to coenroll at ACC and Texas A&M, according to the release. Students will complete foundational classes at ACC and transition to Texas A&M to finish their engineering degree.
Robert Bishop, Texas A&M vice chancellor and dean of engineering, said the academy makes one of the nation’s best engineering colleges more accessible and affordable. Internal data shows students who transition to Texas A&M are sometimes more successful than students who start their studies in College Station, he said.
The Texas A&M Engineering Academy at ACC launched in 2017 and has enrolled 710 students, ACC Chancellor Russell Lowery-Hart said. Since 2021, 134 students have graduated and 327 students remain enrolled at ACC or Texas A&M, per the release.
Why now?
By 2030, the semiconductor industry’s workforce is projected to grow by 115,000 jobs, Taylor said. Industry studies show roughly 67,000 of those projected jobs risk going unfilled at current degree completion rates, and 35% of those unfilled jobs will be engineers with four-year degrees, he said.
“These programs and regional partnerships are imperative for cultivating the talent pipeline necessary for the semiconductor manufacturing industry,” Taylor said.
The partnership comes as Williamson County officials continue working to attract semiconductor companies to the area. In April 2024, County Judge Bill Gravell said Williamson County has become a “world leader in developing an ecosystem for the semiconductor industry.”
“It is our job to fill the talent pipeline, and that's what this program is intended to do,” Bishop said.
