A middle school engineering outreach program for girls yields STEM undergraduates

Many engineering units within universities continue to work toward gender parity among their undergraduates. One strategy is to offer STEM enrichment programs for young women. Experts agree that middle school is an optimal time for intervention, and numerous studies show that middle school outreach programs for girls can enhance interest in STEM. Some universities, however, may be hesitant to invest in middle school programming without evidence of long-term impact. This study shows that rising 7th grade girls who participated in a two-week residential engineering enrichment program at a STEM-intensive university later applied as undergraduates, were admitted, and enrolled at higher rates than a control group. The experimental design of this study is relatively unusual for middle school enrichment programs and eliminates potential bias due to self-selection or a competitive application process.