CONWAY, SC (WBTW) – Coastal Carolina University will launch a new graduate program today it hopes means more women will join the tech industry.
The Certification in Women in Technology is a 16 credit hour certification that will focus on three fields of study: the culture of women in technology, leadership and the technological aspect such as coding or cyber security.
This program will start in January and is one of the first in the nation.
The program will be open to anyone with a Bachelors Degree and though it is not a full degree program, faculty say it will provide students with a look at why less women join, and stay in tech and stem industries. Also the program looks to educate students about how a diverse work force helps companies.
“You’ve seen the headlines all across the nation of companies who are trying to recruit more women, more under-represented groups into their fold, into their workforce,” Dean of the HTC Honors College and Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, Sara Hottinger said. “The fact of the matter is, companies that have a more diverse work forces, tech companies, stem companies tend to be more successful.”
Hottinger says, of all computer science degrees given across the country in 2016, only 19 percent went to women.
Staff and faculty at CCU worked with representatives from Apple while developing the program and students will have the opportunity in the program to learn the software Apple uses to code.
For more information about the program or to apply, click here.
