<p>Yes, Harvey Mudd is working hard to achieve a gender balance. They are darned tough to get into, though (D2 is waiting on her RD decision from them now). As a woman who worked in IT with a daughter who wants to study physics (and participates in male-dominated activities like FIRST Robitics), I can say that a woman has to be kind of pushy to get equal opportunities in those fields. Boys/men are often louder/stronger self promoters, and just assume they will be the ones in charge or doing the key tasks. A girl really has to stick her nose in sometimes. I feel like most professors have caught on and are willing to give young women equal opportunities and access. But a female still has to ask for the opportunities she wants and not let the guys push her out of the way or to the back of the pack. No need to be unpleasant about it hardly ever, but firmness can be required.</p>
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<p>My D swore the same, and she’s a happy sophomore at Wellesley (and is STEM-oriented, though not certain if she will take a STEM major explicitly).</p>
<p>Smith. ABET-accredited engineering program, training engineering managers. Huge new facility underwritten by Ford Motor Company. Predominantly female faculty, will prepare you well for working in what is still a male-dominated profession. ALL the resources are for women - ALL the internships are for women - ALL the mentoring is for women - ALL the placement services are for women, and designed to help women think through their choice throughout the lifecycle.</p>
<p>It’s one thing to talk about not discouraging women, and quite another to offer all the resources of a billion-dollar endowed institution to them.</p>
<p>You should ask a poster named b@r!um about her undergraduate and PhD program math major experiences.</p>
<p>Barnard is worth a look. It is an all-female small LAC, but has convenient access to Columbia for cross registration, so the common concern about limited advanced course offerings at many LACs is easily worked around.</p>
<p>Wellesley has cross registration with MIT, but it is less convenient in terms of commuting.</p>
<p>Smith has access to three other small LACs and the University of Massachusetts - Amherst for cross registration.</p>
<p>Caltech because male or female were the same- they were all in it together and seemed to have a view of brother/ sister friendships.</p>
<p>Off the specific topic of Agentninetynine’s post, but Duke has an excellent track record with women math majors, and a very strong department.</p>
<p>Agentninetynine, would you be willing to share which university the recent grad is from - in your opening post?</p>
<p>Sabaray may I ask where your daughter is attending?</p>
<p>It helps to know the specific schools, but I understand if either or both prefer not to say.</p>
<p>Is this bias found mostly in CS and engineering, or is it also found in mathematics?</p>
<p>My D is at UVA. In her experience and her female peers, they have been well supported and encouraged by SEAS faculty. She has never experienced any discrimination at the hands of any faculty member. There are faculty in the CS dept who have gone out of their way to support and encourage the growth of women in the field.</p>
<p>In doing college research for Spygirl, I heard from a recent grad that she would not necessarily recommend her alma mater because she and her female classmates did not receive the same level of professorial support as their male counterparts.</p>
<p>I think this is the exception and not the rule. Many schools welcome females and have various Women in Eng’g support groups. I wonder what school that was? </p>
<p>the dean of eng’g at my son’s school says that he’s often more impressed by what his female eng’g students do. They win many competitions and they solve problems more elegantly.</p>
<p>Thank you Sabaray. That’s great to hear.</p>
<p>Mom2collegekids, I’m hoping it’s an exception too. Now you’ve got me wondering what elegant problem solving looks like. : )</p>
<p>Edited to add: Leave it to Wiki to explain! It does sound like the way our brains work. : D</p>
<p>Don’t know her stats, but if she is a strong student, have her check out Vassar. The astronomy program is superb and the telescope is grand. Read the history of the observatory and the program. Really cool.</p>
<p>Like others, we have not seen or heard about discrimination or any type of discouraging messaging to women from our daughter or any of her friends in STEM majors. D2 is an engineering major at Bucknell and has only had positive experiences, </p>
<p>If you feel comfortable sharing, I’d love to hear which school DOES have this type of environment (according to one alum) as we’re starting the search for D3 and she’s looking at schools for engineering as well.</p>
<p>Now you’ve got me wondering what elegant problem solving looks like. : )</p>
<p>An elegant solution either solves a problem most efficiently or solves multiple problems with one solution.</p>
<p>I would like to add a recommendation. The University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) has an excellent program for women who want to pursue a career in tech-related fields such as information technology, computer science, and engineering. I can’t say enough good things about it. They offer very generous scholarships, faculty mentors, assistance with internships, and the opportunity to reside in their living-learning community.</p>
<p>[Here</a> is an article about their exceptional STEM programs.](<a href=“http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-03-20/local/35446547_1_umbc-faculty-chemistry-discovery-center-graduation-rate]Here”>http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-03-20/local/35446547_1_umbc-faculty-chemistry-discovery-center-graduation-rate)</p>
<p>Here is an intelligent, if long, discussion of women in STEM and the difficulties they face: </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.aauw.org/files/2013/02/Why-So-Few-Women-in-Science-Technology-Engineering-and-Mathematics.pdf[/url]”>http://www.aauw.org/files/2013/02/Why-So-Few-Women-in-Science-Technology-Engineering-and-Mathematics.pdf</a></p>
<p>Thank you everyone for all of the replies and suggestions. I will forward them onto Spygirl. </p>
<p>The school in question is the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA. This was one student’s opinion. I’ve heard a similar opinion regarding Caltech as well, so I think it really comes down to personal experience. It doesn’t seem to be a widespread issue in higher ed, which is a relief.</p>
<p>^Did that person actually go to Caltech?</p>
<p>Two separate instances. One U of P.S. student and one Caltech student.</p>
<p>I wanted to add to the comments regarding Harvey Mudd. It is hard to get into, but I have been tremendously impressed with the commitment that the school has to attracting young women, having them succeed and increasing their numbers. The President, Dr. Klawe, has made it one of her top priorities, and she has succeeded. Last year the entering class was 51% female, a terrific accomplishment for a STEM school of this caliber. Other schools are looking to Mudd for advice on how to make their campuses equally inviting. The young women who recently graduated with my son had equal opportunities and the environment was quite encouraging, as evidenced by the number of department honors (including the CS department honors) these young women achieved. Mudd is a LAC, and has no graduate students or TAs, so there are fewer layers to work through. Research projects go to the undergrads and the professors are devoted to teaching and to encouraging all their students to thrive. There also are a number of really talented women professors. In a small school, this makes a huge difference. There is no question that women can succeed in the STEM field – they are teaching at Mudd and the students, both male and female see the role model. And the women of Mudd are succeeding in the private sector. The Mudders are snapped up by employers and they get into terrific grad schools. Dr. Klawe is on MicroSoft’s Board of Directors. As you can tell, I am a big fan of the school. It isn’t for everyone because you have to be committed to working like a dog, and taking on a big humanities requirement as well as the STEM courses, but if this appeals to you, it really can’t be beat.</p>
<p>Spygirl toured Mudd. She liked it. However, she was a bit freaked out by the underground labs, being in earthquake country and all. Secondly, Mudd is expensive.</p>