This post originally appeared on the StudySoup blog.
Despite massive growth in computer science employment opportunities over the past decade, women are still highly underrepresented. In fact, according to a report from Fortune, the number of female computing professionals has fallen by 35% since 1990. In 2013, women represented only 26% of all computer science professionals.
In an effort to turn this male-dominated field into a more gender-balanced industry, many changes have started to take place. To start, there’s been a push from organizations such as Girls Who Code and Girls, Inc. to encourage female students to become interested and involved in technology at an earlier age. And at the college level, universities have begun to tailor their computer science programs to be more inclusive. These efforts seem to be making a difference with the percentage of female students completing a computer science degree increasing by 76% over the past five years.
We took a look at the top-ranked U.S. universities for computer science that are also offering an inclusive environment for female students looking to enter into the industry.
Methodology
For this ranking, we consulted a variety of authoritative resources including the National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. News & World Report, StartClass, and PayScale to create a list of what we believe to be the top computer science programs for women in the U.S. Our report includes data points for each school including acceptance rate, tuition, popularity rank of the computer science program, the percentage of female students within the computer science program, graduation rate, and average starting salary.
Top 20 Programs
Harvey Mudd College
Dartmouth College
Harvard University
Rice University
Pennsylvania State
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
College of William and Mary
University of Southern California
Emory University
Princeton University
Georgetown University
Columbia University
North Carolina State University
University of Notre Dame
Carnegie Mellon University
Cornell University
University of North Carolina – Charlotte
University of California – Berkeley
University of Pennsylvania
California Institute of Technology
Top 45 Programs
To see the full list of rankings, visit the StudySoup blog.
Scholarship Opportunities for Women in Computer Science
In an effort to continue increasing the number of women in computer science, both universities and outside organizations alike are raising scholarship funds geared specifically towards helping female STEM students. These include:
Women Techmakers Scholars Program
Sponsored by Google, the Women Techmakers Scholars program looks to create further gender equality within the computer science field. The scholarship program is divided into three regions:
- North America
- Europe, the Middle East, and Africa
- Asia Pacific
In addition to the scholarship award, the program consists of a retreat and online community as opportunities to connect with fellow women in the field.
Visit the scholarship site here.
Society of Women Engineers Golden Gate High School Scholarship Program
The Society of Women Engineers Golden Gate Section (SWE-GGS) offers several scholarship awards to female high school graduates in the Bay Area who are moving on to pursue degrees in Engineering and Computer Science. Last year alone, the organization awarded more than $18,000 in scholarship funds.
Visit the scholarship site here.
Women in Defense HORIZONS Scholarship
The goal of the Women in Defense HORIZONS Scholarship is to encourage women to pursue careers in national security and defense. The award amount varies each year. Aside from computer science, applicants can choose to pursue a further education and career in engineering, cyber security, international relations, political science, economics, security studies, military history, government relations, physics, math, business or law.
Visit the scholarship site here.
Michigan Council of Women in Technology Foundation
The Michigan Council of Women in Technology’s mission is to inspire women to enter the technology space within the state of Michigan. The scholarship is awarded to members of the Girls Exploring Together: Information Technology organization. Other than its annual scholarship, the organization has created a robust community of fellow women in the industry to act as mentors and supporters.
Visit the scholarship site here.
StudySoup Women in Technology Scholarship
As a company driven to help students succeed, we know that college is an important step along with many career paths, but it can be expensive. Students can upload notes to StudySoup to lighten their financial burden. However, we still felt like we could do more to give back to the future leaders of the world. We also believe that it is our responsibility to foster innovation in the field of technology and help underrepresented students break down barriers. Therefore, we are offering a $2,000 Women in Technology Scholarship to an outstanding female student who is planning a career in the field of computer science and/or computer programming.
Visit the scholarship site here.
AWC Scholarship Fund for Women in Computing
Sponsored by the Ann Arbor chapter of the Association for Women in Computing, this scholarship is open to female students pursuing a degree in computer science or a technology-related field. The goal of the organization is to increase the visibility of women working in tech-heavy fields.
Visit the scholarship site here.
Microsoft Research Women’s Fellowship Program
The Microsoft Women’s Fellowship Program was founded to provide opportunities to women working in research and technology. The award is given to a female graduate student enrolled in computer science, electrical engineering, mathematics, or bioinformatics.
Visit the scholarship site here.
Palantir Women in Technology Scholarship
Palantir’ scholarship is available to full-time undergraduate female computer science students. The organization awards up to $10,000 in scholarships to recipients each year. Additionally, scholarship winners are given the opportunity to visit the Palantir headquarters in Palo Alto for a full-day workshop alongside the company’s top female employees. Select winners are also eligible to participate in an internship program.
Visit the scholarship site here.
Adobe Research Women in Technology Scholarship
In order to create even more innovative technologies, Adobe is working to bring more gender diversity to the technology industry. It’s $10,000 Women in Technology Scholarship is available to female undergraduate computer science students all over the world. The program also offers a free one-year subscription to Creative Cloud, access to an Adobe Research mentor, and an opportunity to interview for an internship within the company.
Visit the scholarship site here.
Buildium Women in Technology Scholarship
Buildium is offering a $2,500 scholarship each semester to women earning a STEM degree in a U.S. or Canadian university. The application requires applicants include a brief essay explaining which female tech leader most inspires them and why. Applicants must also be in good standing with their university.
Visit the scholarship site here.
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