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Session 2793

WE@UT – A Residential Recruitment Program for Women in Engineering

Tricia S. Berry The University of Texas at Austin

Abstract The Women in Engineering at The University of Texas (WE@UT) program, a two-day in-depth residential program, is designed to increase participant knowledge and understanding of engineering and technology through hands-on, technology-based team projects so well informed and solid educational and career decisions are made. The objectives of this program are (1) to encourage young women to explore engineering as a career choice; (2) to expose young women to technology across engineering disciplines and to build confidence in using technology; (3) to expose young women to female engineering role models (students, faculty, and industry professionals); (4) to establish an ongoing support network for young women interested in learning about engineering careers; and (5) to introduce young women to a university environment. The overall goal is to increase the enrollment of women in engineering programs at The University of Texas at Austin (UT).

The pilot WE@UT program, held in July 2001 in conjunction with The University’s on-campus honor student recruitment program, had an enrollment of 73 women out of 549 students invited to participate. Invited students had indicated an interest in either engineering or natural science on PSAT, SAT, or ACT tests. According to UT admissions information, 78 percent of those who attended WE@UT applied to UT compared to 32 percent of those who were invited but did not attend. In addition, 55 percent of those who attended WE@UT applied to the College of Engineering at UT compared to 6 percent of those who were invited but did not attend. By providing the participants with the opportunity to explore engineering, the Women in Engineering Program (WEP) at UT contributed to increasing the number of female students entering into engineering programs at UT compared to those female students who did not participate in the WE@UT program.

Introduction The Women in Engineering Program at The University of Texas at Austin’s WE@UT program is a two-day residential program designed to increase participant knowledge and understanding of engineering and technology through faculty presentations, student mentorship, and hands-on, technology-based team projects so well informed and solid educational and career decisions are made. Rising high school senior women who have indicated an interest in engineering or the sciences and who are invited to The University’s Honors Colloquium, an on-campus honor student recruitment program, are invited to participate in WE@UT prior to the start of the Honors Colloquium. By limiting participation to this invited group of students, WEP is able to focus its efforts on recruiting outstanding students with higher than average SAT scores and class Proceedings of the 2003 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2003, American Society for Engineering Education

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Berry, T. (2003, June), We@Ut – A Residential Recruitment Program For Women In Engineering Paper presented at 2003 Annual Conference, Nashville, Tennessee. 10.18260/1-2--12534