Overview
In 2023, MassBay became one of only five awardees in the state to receive a Massachusetts Department of Higher Education grant to start the MassBay STEM Tech Career Academy (MSTCA).
MSTCA is focused primarily on underrepresented students from Natick High School, who will benefit from:
Program Enrollment and Participation
The STEM Tech Career Academy grant supports students who may come from low-income homes, students of color, English language learners, students with learning differences, and students who will be first in their family to attend college. If you are a current 8th grade student who will attend 9th grade at Natick High School in fall 2024, and identify in any of the areas just mentioned, AND/OR are interested in STEM, you are eligible to apply to the academy!
Program outreach will be conducted at Wilson and Kennedy Middle Schools and in the Natick community throughout the fall 2023 semester.
Graduating and eligible 8th graders will be invited to complete an application which will be due in early summer 2024. Interviews with students and their parents/guardians will be conducted throughout December and early January. Students will be notified if they have been selected for the program by mid-January 2024. A program orientation will be offered in summer 2024. Students will begin MSTCA in the fall 2024 semester of 9th grade and commit to the program throughout the entirety of their high school career (9-12).
Curriculum
MSTCA curriculum will focus on two pathways: Engineering and Life Sciences. Grades 9 and 10 will focus on exposure to both disciplines through a survey course and project-based curriculum taught during the day at Natick High School.
Students commit to either the Engineering or Life Sciences track for grades 11-12. They will take two college-level courses in their chosen discipline each year at Natick High School (one in-person and the other online). Enrichment opportunities and optional coursework will be offered each summer. In grade 12, students will take one of the courses in the academy on the MassBay campus in Wellesley Hills.
Industry Partnerships
Students will have a wide range of opportunities for workplace learning including visits to local companies, mentoring by employers, and internship opportunities. In the spring semester of 12th grade or the summer following high school graduation, students will have the opportunity to participate in paid internships or an industry related, project-based capstone course. MassBay has several existing partnerships including MRSI Systems and MIT and will be expanding these partnerships as the program progresses.
Continue to College
Students who successfully complete MSTCA have the potential to earn over 20 college credits. These credits will seamlessly transfer towards a MassBay certificate or associate degree program in STEM, or they may apply towards another college or four-year university as either major or elective credit.
How to Apply
Interested students must complete an application to be considered for acceptance into MassBay's STEM Tech Career Academy at Natick High School (MSTCA).
Only current 8th grade (academic year’23-‘24) students attending either Kennedy or Wilson Schools in the Natick school system, or attending another area school and will begin 9th grade at Natick High School in fall 2024, are eligible to complete the application. Submitting an application does not guarantee acceptance into the program. A brief phone/video interview is required for students and their parent or guardian.
Applicants will be notified of their acceptance into the program by the week of January 3, 2024, and the deadline to confirm acceptance into the program is Wednesday, January 10, 2024.
Learn More
Interested families and students are invited to attend one of the following 2023 program Information Sessions. No registration is necessary for any of these sessions, simply show up or join the Zoom meeting:
For more information please contact
STEM Tech Career Academy Contact
Jen McAndrew, Manager of STEM Tech Career Academy
MassBay Community College:
jmcandrew@massbay.edu
781-239-2594