Program helps women succeed in science and engineering

Women at the UW–Madison who are planning to enter science and engineering fields are more academically successful than ever before.

And part of the reason is UW–Madison’s nationally recognized Women in Science and Engineering Residential Program, a program that has become so popular that it was forced to turn women away this fall.

More than 500 women have enrolled in WISE-RP since it began in fall 1995, including 122 this year.

WISE-RP attempts to counter trends indicating that more than half of women who initially pursue science and engineering degrees change their majors. About one in three men change majors.

WISE-RP provides female students with the social and academic support to excel in science and engineering majors. WISE-RP women live together on two floors at Elizabeth Waters Hall and attend many of their required science courses together.

“We are finding that WISE-RP women are not only sticking with their majors, but they are also achieving at a higher level than other women on campus,” program coordinator Ann Haase Kehl says.

Last year, nearly all WISE-RP women remained in their majors with an average grade point average of 3.35, compared to an average GPA of 3.17 for women living in other residence halls.

Roberta Stellick, who graduated in December with a double major in psychology and zoology, credits WISE-RP for her strong GPA and continued love of science.

“I bet my GPA wouldn’t be as high. I would’ve sat and not participated,” Stellick says. “Instead, I was more involved, and I was motivated to keep studying. I didn’t want to fall behind the other women in the program.”

The 23-year-old is now the only full-time researcher in a five-year Waisman Center study on relationships between mothers and daughters, and she is planning to attend graduate school.

In addition to living, studying and attending class together, WISE-RP women participate in art and cultural events, and in social activities related to science and engineering. WISE-RP women also have access to women professionals working in similar fields on campus.

The result is fewer female students experiencing the sense of isolation sometimes felt in traditionally male-dominated areas of study.

“Part of the challenge for women in male-dominated fields is that they get into their classes and they’re the only women there,” Haase Kehl says. “Here, the whole name of the game is increasing connection and cooperative relationships with peers.”

The Women in Engineering Programs and Advocates Network recently awarded WISE-RP the 2001 Women in Engineering Program award, which recognizes programs that promote greater participation of women in science and engineering fields.

WISE-RP has become so popular that it turned away 39 applicants this fall. “Even though those students don’t get into WISE-RP assigned housing, they are still invited to any events or activities we have here, ” Haase Kehl says.

Haase Kehl says she hopes the presence of like-minded women will still keep those who did not get into the program from feeling the isolation they may have felt 10-years-ago.