Data from the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics shows that only about 18 percent of the students enrolled in undergraduate engineering programs at colleges and universities in the United States are women. In an effort to increase the number of women pursuing degrees in engineering, the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering at Arizona State University is starting early.
With a seed grant from the Engineering Information Foundation, the university has launched the Girls in Engineering: Shaping the Future program. The program will focus on 60 girls in several middle schools in the Phoenix area. Beginning in the sixth grade, the girls will participate in hands-on learning projects in engineering related subjects that will continue through their high school years. The girls will be tracked through high school and beyond to see if these early learning programs increase the number of women who choose to major in engineering in college.