Recruiting women into engineering graduate programs

Since women are seriously underrepresented in engineering graduate programs, programs are needed to bridge existing retention programs for undergraduate women with retention programs for graduate women in engineering. These efforts are likely to strengthen the pipeline of women entering academia. The National Science Foundation-funded Women in Engineering Scholars program is designed to encourage more women to pursue graduate school in engineering. The Scholars Program is administered through the Women in Applied Science and Engineering (WISE) Program at Arizona State University and it includes strong industry participation. A description of the program is presented including budget and funding, participant recruiting, preliminary results and lessons learned.