Women in Information And Computer Sciences (WICS) is a non-profit organization that has been established to help and encourage women to pursue a college degree and a successful career in the Computer Science fields. We work together with a common ambition: To meet, encourage and help each other succeed and gain equal opportunity for women in a challenging field.

Facts about the percentage of Women enrolled in Computer Sciences:

• Women in Information And Computer Sciences (WICS) is an organization which helps encourage young women to be successful in the technological fields. These are strong women determined to support and encourage other fellow peers who are pursuing a degree from the school of Information and Computer Sciences, as well as in all other Computer Science related fields.

• The organization has much to offer, such as outreach programs to primary and secondary school students, networking with faculty, and with business people and companies outside of UCI, as well as workshops to improve their interview skills and help them become even more successful in the future.

• Although female students make up 50% of high school Computer Science (CS) classes, the percentage enrolled in CS programs in college is significantly less. According to the National Center for Education Statistics at the U.S. Department of Education, the percentage of bachelor's degrees in CS awarded to women in the 1993-94 academic year was only 28.4% (the last year for which they have published figures).

• These numbers have been dropping steadily from a high point in 1983, when 37% of the bachelor's degrees awarded in CS went to women. (Note that the percentage of all bachelor's degrees awarded to women was 50% in 1983-84 and 55% in 1993-94.) At the graduate level, the percentages are better, but still dropping for master's degrees in CS, with a high of 29% awarded to women in 1983-84 down to 25% in 1993-94. For Ph.D. degrees, the picture is better, with a high of 15% in 1993-94 (10% in 1983-84).

• More recent statistics come from the 1997-98 CRA Taulbee Survey of departments that grant Ph.D.s in Computer Science. The percentage of bachelor's degrees in CS awarded to women in the 1997-98 academic year was only 16%.

• For graduate degrees awarded in CS in 1997-98, the percentage of master's and Ph.D. degrees awarded to women were 22% and 14%, respectively. In addition, only 16% assistant professors, 12% associate professors, and 8% full professors are women in CS Ph.D.-granting departments.

 

How the Bren School helps Women in the Information and Computer Science fields:

• UC Irvine's Information and Computer Science (ICS) department hosts the largest computing major at any UC Campus with 1,361 undergraduate majors, 58 MS students, 258 Ph.D. students, and 3800 Alumni
  (Source: Student Characteristics Summary, Fall 2004).

• Out of the total of 1,375 ICS students, 248 are females (16.5%). ICS has 37 full-time regular ranks faculty members, of which seven are women (almost 20%, well above the average nationwide of 11%.)

• By joining student clubs such as WICS, female students can surround themselves with their peers and positive influences who, not only work with and can assist them with their classes and curriculum, but can also help them network with other successful women, giving them even more opportunities to succeed.