Grant: SWE 2023 Programs

Date: November 2023
Amount: $365,000

Since 1950, the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) has strived to increase the number of women choosing to enter the engineering and technology fields. This grant will fund 30 SWE Global Scholarships, as well as contribute to programs that will help women in engineering fields excel professionally and showcase their achievements.

These scholarships and programs include:

  • SWENext High School Leadership Academy (SHLA): a virtual year-round program that aims to build resilience and self-confidence among high school students that are interested in pursuing technology and engineering degrees.
  • Minority-Serving Institutes (MSI) Research Survey: a survey conducted by SWE to evaluate the impact of their Collegiate Leadership Institute’s (CLIs) effectiveness on encouraging women to pursue a graduate education in a STEM field as well as the program’s impact on women of color, particularly women from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs).
  • Collegiate Leadership Institute (CLI): a program designed to provide collegiate SWE members with the knowledge, skills, and leadership abilities that will allow them to become leaders in their engineering and/or technology careers and serve as a future pipeline for leaders in SWE.
  • Community College Affiliate Support & Expansion (CCASE) Program: established in February 2023, a program designed to inspire more women in community colleges to pursue a STEM degree, namely those who face exceptional financial challenges and are from underrepresented backgrounds.
  • Global Programs: a program that supports SWE Global Affiliates, local networks of women engineers and allies outside of the US that aim to meet the needs of women engineers in their local communities; they accomplish this by organizing and hosting professional development events, outreach activities, and/or connecting women with career opportunities.

Learn more at https://swe.org/.

Update

ARDC Scholars from Everett Community College, in collaboration with the Society of Women Engineers (SWE).

This $365,000 grant funded scholarships and pipeline programs administered by the Society of Women Engineers, a national non-profit founded in 1950 and headquartered in Chicago. The largest component, $200,000, funded 30 scholarships for women pursuing degrees in electrical engineering, electrical and computer engineering, and computer engineering. Eleven freshmen received $5,000 each and nineteen upperclassmen received $7,500 each. A separate ARDC-funded retention study found that 79 percent of SWE undergraduate scholarship recipients had either earned or were still pursuing a STEM degree; those findings were presented at the 2024 ASEE Conference.

The remaining $165,000 supported four programs. The SWENext High School Leadership Academy, a virtual year-round program, enrolled 237 high school students across six live sessions averaging 60 participants each, featuring speakers from industry and SWE leadership. The Community College Affiliate Support and Expansion program, launched in February 2023, established seven new community college affiliates and added 81 SWE members in its first program year. Global Affiliate funding supported activities at 32 affiliates across 14 countries, including events in South Korea, Indonesia, Canada, and Nigeria.