Engineering Sets New Record: Most Diverse Class Ever
Percentage of women and minorities on the rise
CU-Boulder’s second biggest college enrolledrecord numbers of first-year womenand underrepresented minorities in 2015-16, and preliminary figures suggest it willreach yet a new milestone in the fall.
The number of first-year undergraduatewomen in the College of Engineering& Applied Science rose 17 percent lastyear, to 284, from a year earlier. The numberof minorities rose 28 percent, to 162.
In all, the 2015 first-year engineeringclass was comprised of 32 percent womenand 18 percent minorities.
Nationwide, engineering remainsheavily male and white: in 2014, themost recent year for which statisticswere available, 21 percent of all engineeringundergraduates were women,while 16 percent were underrepresentedminorities.
CU’s total undergraduate engineeringpopulation has grown markedly over thelast five years, by 33 percent, to 4,253 asof last fall’s census.
The college attributes its changingdemographics partly to an evolvingrecruiting strategy designed to let studentsknow they are wanted at CU, saidAmanda Parker (ChemEngr’09; MEngr’16), director of access and recruiting.
Other factors include unique campusresidences for engineers, expandingopportunities for hands-on engineeringprojects and the college’s strongnational reputation.
“Diversity has the power to changethe way our students approach problemsby engaging different perspectives andexpanding their worldviews,” said Parker.“We’re pleased with the progress, butstill have ambitious goals.”
Preliminary figures for 2016-17 indicatethe incoming first-year class may beeven more diverse than the last.
2010:172 Women, 93 Underrepresented minorities
2015:284 Women (a more than 65 percent increase), 162 Underrepresented minorities (a more than 74 percent increase)
The Class of 2015:Enginnering college enrolls most diverse first-year class ever
Diversityhas the power to changethe way our students approach problemsby engaging different perspectives andexpanding their worldviews.