May 21, 2015

UW wins national award for promoting women’s participation in undergraduate computing

The National Center for Women & Information Technology awarded its inaugural grand prize for excellence in recruiting, engaging and supporting women undergraduates in computer science to the University of Washington’s Department of Computer Science & Engineering (CSE).

The national nonprofit that works to increase women’s participation in computing and technology selected UW CSE as the recipient of its top prize, which comes with $100,000, as part of its NCWIT Extension Services Transformation (NEXT) Awards recognizing academic departments that have shown significant positive outcomes in women’s enrollment and graduation rates. The prize is sponsored by Google.

Through initiatives like reaching out to elementary school girls still learning basic math and overhauling introductory computer science courses, UW CSE in the last decade has doubled the percentage of undergraduate computer science degrees awarded to women. UW CSE last year granted 30 percent of its computer science bachelor’s degrees to women — roughly twice the national average among peer institutions.

“We work very hard at creating a welcoming, supportive environment that instills a sense of community, of belonging,” said professor Ed Lazowska, the Bill & Melinda Gates Chair in Computer Science & Engineering. “We realize we still have a long way to go — it’s disturbing that granting 30 percent of our computer science degrees to women places us at twice the national average — but we’re committed and we’re making progress.”

The department’s recruiting efforts start early with K-12 programs that include camps, campus visits, computing open houses, coding competitions, awards, and professional development and recognition for high school teachers. While the programs serve all students interested in computing, they are designed with girls and other underrepresented students in mind.

After seeing an enrollment drop in introductory computer science courses following the dot-com bust, UW CSE re-committed to making them a great experience for all students. A seminar offered alongside those courses specifically aims to make computing disciplines and careers more inviting to women.

Stuart Reges, who presides over these courses and their nearly 100 undergraduate teaching assistants, received a UW Distinguished Teaching Award in 2011. By hiring strong, engaging faculty to teach these courses and using well-trained teaching assistants, including many women, the department has grown introductory course enrollment to record levels and now serves nearly 5,000 students a year.

Tellingly, nearly 60 percent of women undergraduates who eventually major in CSE at the UW had no clear intention of doing before taking those introductory courses.

The National Center for Women & Information Technology award also emphasized the strong sense of community and support that UW CSE programs seek to build among students, teachers and mentors.

“The program does an excellent job of retaining its majors, including women,” the award states. “The University of Washington has grown an inclusive, welcoming community that spans beyond the walls of the university and has demonstrably advanced women’s meaningful participation in computing.”

For more information, contact Kristin Osborne at kristin@cs.washington.edu or 206 616-7479.