The UCLA BRAID Research initiative is launching several new special-focus projects for research into best practices to encourage diversity and inclusion in computer science education.
The new ventures will examine the impact of booming undergraduate computing enrollments and strategies for responses that increase diversity and retention of women and underrepresented minorities in computer science.
The research team will also closely examine alternative pathways to participation in computing degree programs and careers. In addition, through a partnership with researchers at the University of Oregon, the initiative will support national research examining the role of Advanced Placement (AP) Computer Science in increasing diversity in computing. The new special-focus projects are supported through a gift from Pivotal Ventures, the executive office of Melinda Gates.
“This investment will enable the collection of new data that increases our understanding of how colleges and universities can most effectively increase diversity in computing,” says Professor Linda Sax, who leads the BRAID Research Team. “It will also help us to learn more about the role that high school AP Computer Science courses can play in attracting more women and students of color to computing.”
Please see the complete article on the BRAID Research Initiative – Cracking the Code: Why aren’t more women majoring in computer science in Knowledge That Matters or in the new UCLA Ed & IS Magazine.
Above: The BRAID Initiative Research Team. Seated, L-R: Tomoko Nakajima, Julia Karpicz, Professor Linda Sax, and Connie Chang
Standing, L-R: Annie Wofford, Kaitlin Newhouse, Kari George, Dr. Kathleen Lehman, Jennifer Blaney, and Sarayu Sundar
Courtesy of the BRAID Research Initiative