亚洲AV

Mason faculty design Break Through Tech Program

Two girls sitting in front of computers in a computer lab-like room.
Body

鈥淲omen represent 57 percent of all bachelor鈥檚 recipients in the U.S. but only 19 percent聽of CS graduates,鈥 said , proposed School of Computing Division Dean. 鈥淔or social equity and inclusion, it is imperative that we work towards gender parity in the technology sector.鈥澛

亚洲AV聽received聽a grant from聽聽to propel more students who identify as women and non-binary into tech education鈥攁nd ultimately tech careers鈥攖hrough curriculum innovation, career access,聽and community building.聽聽

The聽grant鈥檚 goal is to increase the number of these students graduating with a tech degree at Mason by 12.5 percentage points by 2026.聽聽

Mason鈥檚 Break Through Tech program will be directed by the聽Volgenau聽School of Engineering, the proposed School of Computing,聽and the Departments of Computer Science and Information Sciences and Technology.聽聽

The聽faculty聽working on this initiative聽seek聽to attract and retain women and underrepresented communities pursuing聽computing degrees聽and careers in聽tech in聽the聽D.C.聽metropolitan聽area.聽

Mason鈥檚 Break Through Tech program will include:聽

  • A summer program for rising first-year students designed to ignite interest in tech by teaching them how to code聽mission-driven,聽real-world applications;聽

  • A new, innovative introductory sequence of computing courses;聽聽

  • A paid, three-week mini-internship program called a 鈥淪printernship庐鈥 that gives first- and second-year students a resume credential and real-world experience to make them more competitive when applying for a paid summer tech internship;聽聽

  • 聽A networked聽cohort of individuals who identify as women and non-binary鈥攂oth peer-to-peer and student-to-professional鈥攊n the D.C. metro area to support, engage and motivate one another.聽

鈥淲e are very excited about the opportunities this grant provides for curriculum innovation and industry partnerships that will strengthen our ability to recruit, train, and incorporate more women as successful professionals to the computing disciplines,鈥 said聽,聽chair聽of the .聽鈥淭his project will have a lasting positive impact in terms of improving diversity in the workplace,聽and we are well-positioned to make our mark.鈥澛

Chair David Rosenblum聽echoes the importance of聽curriculum innovation.聽Notably, adjusting the introductory computing courses offered at Mason.聽聽

鈥淎n increasing number of institutions, most notably Harvey Mudd College, have experienced tremendous success in attracting female students into their computing programs, through innovations to the design and content of their introductory computing courses,鈥 said Rosenblum. 鈥淎t Mason, we will apply the best practices that have been established by these pioneering institutions聽while introducing homegrown innovations of our own.鈥澛

, a professor聽in the Department of Computer Science and principal investigator for the grant,聽said that in addition to revamping Mason鈥檚 introductory computing course, a free 鈥渂ootcamp鈥 will be offered over the Summer to prepare students for the course.聽聽

鈥淏y 2026, estimates are that the U.S. will only be producing 17聽percent聽of the graduates needed to meet the nation鈥檚 tech workforce needs. This is a national problem,鈥 said Rangwala.聽聽聽

Break Through Tech at聽Mason聽is purposefully working to ensure long-term tech success for the program participants through community building efforts.聽Volgenau聽School of Engineering鈥檚 Chief Diversity Officer Christopher聽Carr聽says Mason is聽taking聽a holistic approach.聽

聽鈥淔rom our K-12 outreach, we will utilize structures like our Early Identification Program,聽which works with communities across the National Capital Region, with particular emphasis on those communities that have been historically oppressed and marginalized,鈥澛爏ays聽Carr. 鈥淲e will then ensure that all participants have support through not only mentorship and cohort development, but by intentional efforts to connect the participants to all that is聽Mason - from our student organizations聽to living-learning communities, and so much more.鈥澛