Home : Volume 28 : Fall 2001 :
WISE choice: Residential-living program offers support to science-minded women

When Sonya Schilcher entered UW-Madison last fall, she and her roommate had more in common than the usual tastes in music, clothing and dorm decor: They both hoped to become engineers. That they shared this educational interest wasn't a coincidence, however. The two met after they signed up to participate in the university's Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Residential Program.

The WISE program provides students with a living and learning environment that supports their interests in science and engineering, says Wendy Crone, an assistant professor in the Department of Engineering Physics and faculty co-director of the program. "Without such a support network, women are more likely than men to switch into nonscience majors in their first few years, even though they have maintained a good grade-point average," she says.

Since many science fields are male-dominated, women often feel left out — and that's where WISE steps in. "It's hard to feel isolated when you are surrounded by more than 100 other women who have similar interests to your own," says Crone.

Students in WISE live in designated rooms in Elizabeth Waters, an all-female residence hall, and organize and participate in social and out-of-classroom academic activities year-round.

This fall, the program drew a record 126 participants, up from 82 students in the 2000-2001 school year. Although many of those students are freshmen, others, including industrial engineering sophomore Schilcher, elect to remain in the program. "I just thought it was really neat to live in the same building as some of the girls in my classes," she says. "Most of the girls are pretty motivated and it's nice to be around some people who know what you're going through."

And because of that exposure, many fare better in school, says Crone. "Research on the WISE participants has also shown that our students have substantially better first-semester grades than the average UW-Madison freshman," she says. "This is especially noteworthy since WISE students tend to enroll in challenging math and science courses."

Earlier this year, WISE received the Women in Engineering Program Award from the Women in Engineering Programs and Advocates Network, a national nonprofit professional and advocacy group. The award, which UW-Madison shares with the Women in Engineering Project at Ryerson Polytechnic University, Toronto, Canada, recognizes outstanding model programs.

For more information about WISE, visit http://www.housing.wisc.edu/wise/.

Content by perspective@engr.wisc.edu

Date last modified: Friday, 26-Oct-2001 10:10:00 CDT

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