Texas Academy
of Mathematics and Science

The academy

UNT's Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science is the nation's first accelerated residential program for gifted teen-age math and science students. It was created by the Texas Legislature in 1987 to provide an opportunity for talented students to complete their first two years of college while earning a high school diploma. The program is only open to Texas residents.

If accepted into TAMS, you will enroll at UNT as a freshman at the time you would normally start your junior year of high school. As an academy student, you will attend regular UNT courses taught by full-time faculty members. Your classmates will be UNT undergraduate and graduate students, as well as fellow TAMS students.

Even if your home is just a short drive from UNT, you will be required to live on campus with other TAMS students in the academy's residence hall. A hall director, assistant hall directors and resident assistants will live in the hall with you and will help you adjust to living away from home.

After two years (four semesters) at the academy, you will graduate with a high school diploma and at least 60 college credit hours enough to start your junior year at UNT or at another university.

Academics

TAMS is aimed at students who want careers in engineering, science or mathematics. All courses taken by TAMS students are considered honors courses for high school credit because they are actual college courses taken with regular university students and taught by university faculty.

As an academy student, you will be required to take two semesters of general biology, two semesters of general chemistry, two semesters of calculus-based physics and two semesters of math. You also will take humanities courses and other courses required of all UNT undergraduates.

Once you have completed the required courses, you can take UNT courses related to your future career. You must have at least a 3.0 GPA to stay in good academic standing at the academy.

Facts about TAMS

• Nine TAMS students were named Semifinalists, and one TAMS student a National Finalist, in the 2005 Siemens Westinghouse Competition in Math, Science, and Technology.
• Two TAMS seniors were named Semifinalists in the prestigious 2006 Intel Science Talent Competition.
• Four TAMS students were recognized as 2006 Barry M. Goldwater Scholars, considered the most prestigious national scholarship for students planning careers in math, science, or engineering. UNT was the only school in Texas to have four winners.
• Three TAMS seniors were named 2006 Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation semifinalists, one of whom became a finalist.

admission

To apply to the academy, you must be a sophomore in a Texas high school and score at least 1100 on the Scholastic Assessment Test I, including at least 600 on the math section. You also must complete geometry, Algebra I and Algebra II by the end of the 10th grade. You will be selected for TAMS based on your SAT I score, your grades, your interest in science and math, academy math diagnostic tests, an essay completed with your application, a personal interview and recommendations from three teachers and a counselor.

You should plan to take the SAT I and apply to TAMS as early as possible in your sophomore year. The TAMS staff begins interviewing prospective students in December for enrollment in fall of the next year. TAMS admits students from all ethnic and cultural backgrounds and from large and small, urban and rural, and public and private high schools throughout Texas.

Finances

TAMS pays the cost of UNT tuition, fees and books for all academy students each semester. However, if you are accepted to the academy, your family must pay for room and board and provide spending money. The academy provides financial aid to about one-third of its students each year.

Student life

With approximately 376 students enrolled each year, McConnell Hall, where all TAMS students must live, is a beehive of activities. TAMS students are eligible to participate and lead UNT organizations, (with a few exceptions); however more than 20 student organizations are designed just for TAMS students inside McConnell Hall. TAMS students have a strong tradition of community service, accumulating over 15,000 hours annually serving on the UNT campus, Denton and surrounding communities. The student life staff is stellar and work to provide a stimulating atmosphere that builds students' character and leadership. For additional information on TAMS student life go to - www.tams.unt.edu/studentlife

Preview days

During one of the academy's preview days, you and your parents may visit with the academy staff, tour the UNT campus and the TAMS residence hall, and meet current TAMS students and their parents. Preview days are usually scheduled once a month from September through March. Please call (800) 241-8267 for reservations. The TAMS offices are in Marquis Hall, Room 114.