Women’s Technology Program (WTP)

The Women’s Technology Program (WTP) is a rigorous four-week academic and residential experience at MIT where female high school students explore engineering through hands-on classes, labs, and team-based projects in the summer after 11th grade. Students attend WTP in either Electrical Engineering & Computer Science (EECS) or Mechanical Engineering (ME).

Our goals are to interest girls who currently excel in math and science in studying engineering and computer science, and to help them recognize their potential for success in these fields.

Female MIT graduate students design and teach the classes, assisted by female MIT undergraduate students who also live in the dorm with the high school girls. The daily schedule includes classes, labs, homework, and social time with other WTP students.

Who should apply to WTP?   Female students now in grade 11 who:
• love and excel at math and science but have no prior experience (or very little) in engineering or computer science

• would like to experience hands-on activities where they design and build engineering projects

• enjoy problem solving and collaborative learning

• want to spend 4 summer weeks challenging their minds, working hard, and making friends with girls from around the U.S. who share their math and science interests

Sixty participants (40 for EECS and 20 for ME) are selected from a national applicant pool of the top female 11th grade math and science students. Students must either attend high school in the U.S., or be U.S. citizens if attending school outside the U.S.

The primary criteria for acceptance are a strong curiosity about engineering and/or computer science and a demonstrated ability to excel in math and science. Students should be able to handle college-level material at a rapid pace, but should not have completed prior coursework or summer programs in the WTP curriculum.

Application Deadline:  January 15th.  The online application is available at the end of November each year.