Upward Bound Program

Upward Bound is a pre-college, academic support program that prepares high school students in grades 9 through 12 to become successful college students.

This is achieved by developing student's skills, reinforcing belief in their own abilities, introducing them to varied social and cultural activities, and providing them with personalized academic support services. Upward Bound is a federally-funded program.

Upward Bound is one of the original TRIO programs founded through the Educational Opportunity Act of 1964 as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson's War on Poverty initiatives.

East Stroudsburg University became a host university to Project Upward Bound in the 1974, and is one of over 750 universities and colleges in the United States to host such a program.

The program currently recruits from schools within the two-county area of Monroe, and Lehigh.

Mission Statement

In 1974, East Stroudsburg University Project Upward Bound (ESU UB) was formed to advance the ideal of equal opportunity in post-secondary education.

As such, ESU UB believes that students from all segments of the population should have an opportunity to achieve academic excellence in the high school and university levels.

The mission of ESU UB is to promote intellectual curiosity and academic excellence, to acquire the ability to engage, make prudent choices, and develop the technical skills necessary to succeed at the high school and university levels.

The ESU UB community values the ethics of intellectual engagement, integrity, compassion and service.

Students will be responsible for their learning, observing and making relevant choices in the context of a community of learners in which parental support plays an essential role.

In order to achieve these goals, the ESU UB community provides academic instruction in subject areas supportive of the high school curriculum, group counseling, cultural programs and career guidance.

Students will be exposed to people, places, and events that will deepen their dreams and broaden their life vision.

Students will learn how to identify, establish and achieve goals gleaned from his/her journey.