Rice University placed 15th among 749 four-year private nonprofit institutions in the United States for the number of bachelor’s degrees in engineering it awarded to women.
The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that for the academic year 2016-17, the George R. Brown School of Engineering awarded 233 undergraduate degrees to women, representing 36.9 percent of the total. That’s up 1.7 percent from 2009-10.
“One of the reasons Rice does well in recruiting and graduating women in engineering and computer science is our higher-than-average percentage of female faculty. Roughly 20 percent of our tenured/tenure track faculty are women, compared to 17 percent nationally,” said Yvette Pearson, associate dean of engineering for accreditation, assessment and strategic initiatives.
In the same category of colleges and universities, Rice was ranked 19th nationally in the number of bachelor’s degrees in computer science it awarded in 2016-17. The 85 degrees constituted 31.8 percent of the total, up 24.1 percent from 2009-2010.
The Chronicle noted: “Only four colleges with at least 50 bachelor’s-degree recipients in computer science in 2016-17 awarded more than half of such degrees to women, and one of those was a women’s college.”
“At Rice,” Pearson said, “female faculty members serve as strong role models and mentors for our students. Above all, we strive to ensure an inclusive climate and culture in which all of our students, faculty and staff can interact and succeed in achieving their goals.”
Patrick E. Kurp, Science Writer, School of Engineering