African-American Women in Computer Science (AAWCS) Scholarship Program

Florida Agricultural And Mechanical University, Tallahassee FL

Investigators

Abstract

The African-American Women in Computer Science (AAWCS) scholarship program builds an academic and financial support structure for increasing the retention, recruitment, and graduation of African-American women students in the field of computer science. While open to all qualified students, the specific target of this project is African-American female students. The CIS Department has access to a large pool of middle and high school students. The project has a unique environment providing participants with multiple categories of support, creating an educational pipeline flow from first-year college student through the completion of the undergraduate degree. The project utilizes existing institutional strength in creating a comprehensive plan to increase and retain the number of African-American women in computer science, providing them with encouragement, reinforcement, and research and professional experiences. AAWCS involves the scholars in a variety of interventions, including an Opening Orientation Ceremony for first-year students enrolling in CIS, a monthly seminar series on topics ranging from research areas to career opportunities, and a Peer-Team program with students being grouped together to develop academic collaborations and peer-assistance while matriculating through the computer science curriculum. AAWCS leverages the existing resources of several intervention programs already in place in creating a strong and effective recruitment and development component. AAWCS seeks to financially support up to twenty women annually, depending upon grade point average and evidence of financial need. Awards are renewable throughout the life of the project. Furthermore, research on effective approaches for increasing the number and improving the success rate of African-American women in computing are carried out and shared by the project coordinators.