Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science

The Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science (TAMS) is a two-year residential early college entrance program serving approximately 380 Texans at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas. It is a member of the National Consortium for Specialized Secondary Schools of Mathematics, Science and Technology.

Each year TAMS admits approximately 200 new students following their 10th grade year of high school. These students are entered into full-time college studies and proceed to earn two years of college credit that is transferable in some situations while at the same time earning a high school diploma. Typical TAMS students receive both a high school diploma and more than 60 college credits, allowing them to enter university with enough credit to qualify as a junior.

Academics
Core subjects required for graduation with a TAMS diploma are Biology, Chemistry, Physics (mechanics and electromagnetism), mathematics (including at least Precalculus through Calculus II), English literature, American history, and Political Science.

In addition, a seminar course must be attended regularly. The seminar includes presentations by speakers, covering topics such as research opportunities and etiquette.

All core courses must be taken at TAMS/UNT during the Fall and Spring semesters. All courses, including electives, must be taken in standard format &mdash; that is, none can be taken on-line or by correspondence. The minimum cumulative GPA required for graduation is 3.0. Students who fail to keep up their grades are disallowed from returning to the Academy the following semester. 15 students were dismissed at the end of Fall 2006.

The number of elective courses that a student may take in a given semester is dependent upon his or her GPA.

Tuition and fees
TAMS students are responsible for paying for room and board in McConnell Hall and a TAMS "program charge" (which amounted to $1,300 during the 2005-2006 academic year). Tuition and all other fees are paid for by the TAMS program. Textbooks are lent to the student for free for the duration of the relevant course. In earlier years the program was free of charge, with the exception of room and board. Funding cuts by the state in 2003 led to the addition of the "program charge."

Scholarships and awards
Approximately 93% of TAMS graduates have pursued careers in mathematics and science. Many of the recent graduates are still in school. The total amount of scholarship money offered to TAMS graduates annually is generally eight to nine million dollars, two to three million of which is accepted.

Research
Students at TAMS are encouraged to take the opportunity of conducting research under the guidance of a professor either on or off-campus during the school year as well as the summer. The TAMS Summer Research Scholarship is offered to about 60 students per year to fund these research pursuits. In the past, amounts up to $4000 have been granted, though due to recent budget cuts the scholarship for the '05-'06 summer was reduced to $3000. Many students dedicate a great deal of time into their research and are recognized for their effort through professors granting the student authorship of papers published in journals or through awards at competitions such as Siemens Westinghouse Science and Technology Competition and the Intel Science Talent Search Competition. A number of students also compete for the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship.

Student life
TAMS students actively participate in the UNT community through activities such as community service projects and tutoring.

Clubs and Organizations
TAMS has a very active community, with numerous clubs ranging from Mu Alpha Theta to Academy Players (theatre). There are also many community service activities available in which students can participate.

A few examples of the clubs at TAMS include:
 * HOPE (Helping Other People Everywhere)
 * TFLA (TAMS Forensics and Leadership Assoc.)
 * Mu Alpha Theta (Math Club)
 * FACES
 * Dull Roar
 * TAMS Medical Society
 * JETS (Engineering Club)
 * MOE (Masters of Entertainment)
 * TAMS Research Organization
 * Student Council
 * McConnell Hall Association (MHA)
 * Scoopwell
 * After Prom

In addition to these TAMS clubs, the McConnell Hall Association functions as a part of the UNT Residential Hall Association. Also, one student is voted to represent TAMS in the UNT Student Government Association each year.

McConnell Hall
All TAMS students live in McConnell Hall. The hall consists of three floors, separated by gender.

The hall is furnished with two common rooms (the Smitty Study and Mac Café), a kitchenette, and multiple meeting rooms (Conference Room, Bewley, TV Room, Student Activities Center).

The Smitty Study serves as a public recreation room. It features ping-pong, pool and foosball which can be played in non-quiet hours. It also serves as a study area.

Mac Café
The Mac Café is one of the common rooms in McConnell, populated with Mac rats, housing various club functions as well as serving as a hangout and study area. The room houses a culture in and of itself built by the students who spend a majority of time there. These students have adopted the name "Mac rats."

Over the years Mac Cafe has undergone several renovations. Before the start of the 2004-2005 school year, Mac Cafe was refitted with blue carpet replacing the old green. Of recent concern to the Mac rats is the replacement of Mac couches. Before the 2006-2007 school year started, the large comfortable, yet ugly couches were replaced with uncomfortable yet more stylish couches from a nearby dorm.

Disciplinary system
TAMS administration has a system of discipline and an organization (the Judicial Board or "J-Board) to dispute common and minor issues with the system. Many rules, including a curfew, are imposed to protect the students. Some areas of Denton and Dallas are restricted at night, while others are completely off-limits at any time.

Students often complain about the TAMS administration's power. For example, it is speculated that there exist loopholes in TAMS policies which would give any resident assistant the power to throw a student out of TAMS. This is countermanded, however, by an extensive system of checks and balances built into the disciplinary policy of both the housing system and the TAMS program. It also should be noted that Resident Assistants, Hall Directors, and Desk Clerks are not technically classified as administration in the UNT system; they are instead "staff" members with limited authority assigned to their position.

The TAMS staff administers documentations, each worth a varying amount of "points." The points go on record and are accumulated by the student over his or her career at TAMS. Violations such as quiet hour disturbance are not given any leniency, but three documentations for the same offense must be recorded in thirty days before any actual points are accumulated. More serious violations, however, such as the use of illegal or restricted substances are strictly enforced due to the high standard that TAMS students are expected to uphold; 20 students were arrested without bail in 2006 alone.

Pranks and Other Things
In the past, an ongoing tradition at TAMS was for the senior class each year to steal the sign in front of McConnell Hall, the dormitory housing the TAMS students. Each time this occurred the sign was replaced by the TAMS or UNT administration, but several times the new sign was misspelled or mislabeled.

Stealing the sign, although certainly illegal, is a relatively tame prank. Since the Academy was founded, the rule book has continuously grown, as each new class discovered new diversions that met with the disapproval of the administration and were subsequently forbidden. Additionally, illegal pranks also seem to have declined greatly. Early years saw numerous visits from the FBI and the Secret Service due to various technological shenanigans as TAMS has been in the past a major hub of data piracy (including copies of the movie 300 mere hours after its theatrical release), and dangerous activities such as dropping broken CRT monitors from windows or rappelling out of the building after curfew were observed. Many other pranks, such as vadding through the tunnels beneath McConnell, using bathtubs to cook ramen, or using the Chinese eggroll as a replacement to doorknobs are much more harmless.

It should be noted that most pranks are playing on typical themes of protest much like those observed in typical high schools. Little danger exists, as pranks are not usually concerned with matters that violate laws.

Setting off the fire alarms on the night before the first Biology exam has become increasingly popular in recent years. In the Falls Semesters of 2005, 2006, and 2007, the TAMS administration had to put the dormitory into "lock-down" three times, where students are confined to their rooms until the chosen period of punishment has ended. Lock-downs of the dormitory have been met increasingly fiercely by the students, who see it as an unfair to suffer for the crimes of others. It was expected that there would be too much security (as well as rumors of an double-length "lock-down") on September 20 for anyone to successfully set off the fire alarm, but it was pulled nonetheless after a small gap in the security of the McConnell Hall was taken advantage of. Investigations are pending, however, and the circumstances and location where the alarm was pulled are also known, narrowing the list of suspects to one wing of the dorm. The suspect will most likely be found in a matter of days but none of the students really care anymore.

Notable Alumni

 * David Williams, 2nd at the 2004 World Series of Poker
 * Alice Ting, professor, Dept. of Chemistry, MIT
 * Nora Zehetner, Actress