A First-Year Experience
CLEMSON RISE is a cornerstone first-year experience, recognized for providing the tools you need to succeed in your transition to Clemson and throughout your first year as an engineering, science, computing, or geology student. The RISE Program is housed in Mickel Hall, in the heart of Clemson's West Campus, overlooking Memorial Stadium. Your Clemson story starts here.
Your Story Starts Here
What if your first year on campus felt a little more like home? Familiar faces. Friendly spaces. Open doors and supportive mentors. What if your first day of class in a science or engineering course was full of people you met on move-in day and just a walk downstairs from your residence hall room? Or if finding a study group was as simple as stepping outside your door?
RISE offers a cohort course schedule for program participants, so that students can be in courses with fellow RISE students and faculty associated with the program. Students often describe the cohort classes as one of their favorite things about their first-year experience!
FAQ Apply to RISE
Find Yourself Here
RISE enhances the Clemson Experience and promotes success for first-year STEM students.
Grady Funke - Mechanical Engineering
Grady knew one person within 1,000 miles of Clemson when he arrived on campus.
Why choose RISE? He wanted friends, study partners and the connection of a small school in a large university setting. He also wanted to work alongside other STEM majors so they could help and challenge each other. That’s exactly what he found in RISE. Three years later, his roommate is a friend who lived just next door during that year of firsts. And his circle? It’s a lot bigger than he ever expected.
“It doesn't matter if you're an introvert or extrovert, you're going to make friends. You're going to know people on your hall. And that's important.“
Grady FunkeClass of '25
RISE is a first-year experience that doesn’t stay confined. Ask students years later and they’ll tell you: the people you live and learn with during that time become family.
With RISE, you can expect small, cohorted classes, an academic challenge and the tools to meet it, plus a community of peers and faculty that become your new network of support.
Abigail Casey - Biological Sciences
Arriving on campus from her home in Chicago, Abigail knew “absolutely nobody.” RISE changed that and gave her the support she needed to succeed.
“It was my roommate who encouraged me to join RISE with her. When she explained to me that I'd be taking classes with students who were also living in my building, that was a big appeal for me – to have a community where we had shared majors, and a lot of shared interests.”
Abigail CaseyClass of '27
Abigail used the study rooms in RISE and connected with RISE tutors. She asked questions and found an easier transition to college life because she was in smaller classes. She found community among her classmates and felt that because your classmates are your neighbors, you always knew someone in the classroom and always had someone to study with.
James Hammond - Chemical Engineering
James hails from Greenville, South Carolina, just an hour away from Clemson, so he was guaranteed to see familiar faces on campus. Why apply to RISE? He knew it would help him create a unique and personal first year experience. It offered exactly the small college experience he was looking for but with all the opportunities of a major university.
Combining life and learning in the center of campus accelerated his connection to peers and professors, and it jump-started the research opportunities he wanted.
“My very first class on campus was a RISE section, which was great because everybody had already met during move-in day. On top of that, the people who lived across the hall became some of my best friends. I would not have met them had I not been living there.”“
James HammondClass of '27
James credited RISE for help outside of his academic career by getting into an REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates) team as a first-year undergrad via resources from the program.
Connections, Support, and Transformative Experiences
With RISE, you are given the tools and network to craft your unique journey. Here are ways that you can immediately begin to build your network and set yourself up for success.
- Cohorted Courses – register for RISE-specific sections of chemistry, calculus, and engineering and have classes with other students in the program
- In-hall Academic Support – receive academic support through tutoring for first-year foundational STEM courses.
- Faculty Fellows – connect with Faculty outside the classroom through Skills Nights, Creative Inquiries, and social events.
- Career Development – cast a vision for your professional career through connecting with CECAS student organizations, attending workshops, and participating in the RISE LinkedIn Challenge each spring.
- RISE Makerspace – create, learn, and collaborate in RISE’s in-house Makerspace
- Personalized Strengths-Based Coaching - unlock your full potential through one-on-one coaching sessions focused on identifying and leveraging your unique talents. Work with a dedicated coach to set personalized goals and create an action plan that aligns with your academic and professional aspirations.
RISE students live in Mickel Hall, overlooking Death Valley. Mickel Hall Suites are modern suite-style units with spacious lounges that give residents a great place to relax or hang out with friends and study.
Student Opportunities
As part of the CLEMSON RISE program, students will have opportunities to engage with fellow students and faculty, develop and apply their strengths, discover and invent new ideas, and achieve academically in the living-learning environment.
Connect with Us!
Interested in learning more about the RISE Living-Learning Program? Connect with a member of the RISE Team at clemsonrise@clemson.edu.
