Increasing Diversity of Computing Course Participation Using A Summer Bridge Program
For many underrepresented groups, coming into a large university and immediately being able to acclimate and succeed is a tall task. Many students come to campus interested in computing but do not have the prior experience to know what path they want to take or have the necessary content knowledge to feel capable of taking on their fist computing course. Additionally without prior experience in computing, knowing how to select a specific computing major and career is difficult to do while already feeling behind. The summer bridge program is a key part of a national initiative to close the gender gap in computing majors on large university campuses. This specific program runs prior to the start of the semester for one week at a time. In the past three years, the program has served over 200 students from countless different majors and backgrounds, with the explicit goal to give them the tools and community to be able to succeed in Computing. Students learn core coding concepts from a Computer Science instructor, tackle a real world design problem and explore careers in tech both through mentorship from industry professionals and from the campus. We have noticed significant amounts of students have continued on to computing courses after the program.