Caltech’s Incoming Undergraduate Class Reaches Historic Milestone: 50% Women

This accomplishment is the result of sustained efforts to improve gender equity on campus and in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). For the past several decades, the Institute has piloted strategic initiatives to recruit and retain women to ensure equal access to education and to increase diversity among the undergraduate class.

“Caltech aims to be the destination of choice for the most talented, creative individuals from every background and perspective, and to build a community where everyone can reach their full potential,” says Caltech President Thomas F. Rosenbaum.

“Our ability to remain a top research and educational institution crucially depends on finding and attracting gifted students, postdocs, and faculty. Achieving gender equity in the same year that we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of our first graduating class of undergraduate women is especially resonant.”

Though Caltech has made strides, the journey to gender parity has been an uphill battle. The historic exclusion of women from the Institute’s undergraduate program had lingering effects; even after female undergraduates were admitted, it wasn’t until 1993 that a Caltech graduating class included more than 25% women. In addition, trends in STEM education nationwide show that women are still underrepresented in math, physical science, engineering, and computer science degree programs, despite making up the majority of bachelor’s degree earners.

To combat inequities, the Institute has focused on increasing the number of female applicants and matriculants with targeted outreach and recruitment efforts. One of the earliest initiatives toward this goal was Pre-Frosh Weekend, a spring preview program for admitted women first held in 1980. The program later expanded to include other historically underrepresented groups and eventually grew to include all admitted students, becoming what is now called DiscoTech.

Ashley Pallie, dean of admissions, says the goal of targeted recruitment is to connect with highly qualified candidates to ensure that they have an appreciation for the opportunities that are available to them at a research institution like Caltech.

“We have been intentional in our efforts to communicate to exceptional female students that Caltech is a place where they can thrive intellectually and where they will grow as scientists and engineers,” Pallie says. “We are thrilled that the story of Caltech as a place where brilliant STEM minds, from all backgrounds, will grow and be challenged is resonating with ambitious students across the world.”

In addition to recruiting women, the Institute supports the long-term success of female students via academic and career counseling, mental health resources, and several affinity groups that provide community, mentorship, and advocacy on campus. The six-year graduation rate is 93% for self-identified undergraduate women and 91% for men.

Today, Women in STEM (WiSTEM) is the primary initiative bolstering the admission and enrollment of women undergraduates. WiSTEM is a free overnight summer preview program for high school juniors and seniors whose gender identity has been historically underrepresented in STEM, especially those who identify as female, nonbinary, and/or gender expansive. This year, WiSTEM will take place August 8–9, with an optional athletic camp on August 7. The keynote speaker will be Katie Bouman, associate professor of computing and mathematical sciences, electrical engineering and astronomy; Rosenberg Scholar; and Heritage Medical Research Institute Investigator.

WiSTEM programming involves campus and lab tours, mock lectures, panels about student life and the Caltech experience, group activities, and social mixers with other attendees, current students, and faculty. According to WiSTEM director and assistant director of undergraduate admissions Sophia Stills, the program aims to introduce students to Caltech and encourage students to pursue their passion for science without compromising any aspect of who they are.

“We want to make sure students know that Caltech is a place where they will be embraced as their most authentic selves, where they will be seen in all the multitudes and different facets of their identities,” Stills says. “And we want to remind them that no matter where they go to college, they should feel encouraged to show up as their fullest selves as scientists in the world, that being their most authentic selves is what’s going to make them the best scientists they can be.”

Last year, more than 700 students and family members attended the WiSTEM program. Among them were two members of the incoming undergraduate class, who both say that WiSTEM informed their decision to attend Caltech.

Noelle Wilkinson, an incoming first year from Bentonville, Arkansas, says her experience at WiSTEM was inspiring.

“It was really empowering to see so many women interested in science in the same place, especially because it isn’t as common to see women in STEM where I’m from,” Wilkinson says. “After visiting, I got the best feeling at Caltech compared to other schools. I feel like everyone here seems really down-to-earth.”

Wilkinson is passionate about math, computer science, and research. She says she hopes to pursue computational neuroscience research while at Caltech.

“I did an independent research project in high school using computer science to study borderline personality disorder and mental illness,” Wilkinson says. “I loved being able to mix different subjects and sciences together. I feel like Caltech is a great place for that with the computation and neural systems major and all the research opportunities. I am so excited for everything I’m going to learn.”

Adoniya Paul, an incoming first year from Long Beach, California, also felt motivated by her experience at WiSTEM.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many women in STEM,” Paul says of the program. “You kind of brush it off when you’re not thinking about it, but when there are that many people actually in front of you, you’re like, ‘This is kind of amazing. This is really cool!’ It was awe inspiring.”

Paul is also a QuestBridge scholar and is interested in pursuing mechanical engineering and rocketry at Caltech. In high school, she served as co-captain of a competitive robotics team and took advanced rocketry courses, where she helped design, build, and launch model rockets at the Friends of Amateur Rocketry (FAR) launch site in the Mojave Desert.

Paul says she knew Caltech was her dream school after visiting campus and seeing how authentic and friendly the students were.

“Everyone I met felt very real,” Paul says. “They talked about community so much, and that is very important to me.”

Paul says, for that reason, she chose to rank Caltech as her top choice in her QuestBridge application—a binding decision. QuestBridge finalists in the National College Match program can rank up to 15 schools among partner colleges. If they are accepted into any ranked school, they receive a full-tuition scholarship and are bound to attend the top-ranked school they are admitted to.

“I only ranked two schools,” Paul says. “My top choice was Caltech, and my second choice was MIT. And the only reason I ranked MIT was because it wasn’t binding, so I thought, ‘If I don’t get into Caltech but I do get into MIT, at least I still have another chance to get into Caltech.’ It worked out. I’m very happy.”

Paul says she is looking forward to taking classes that are outside of her usual interests and being challenged in ways that help her grow intellectually. She also reflected on what the achievement of gender parity means to her.

“I feel proud and inspired to be part of this historic incoming class,” Paul says. “Even though 50% is just a statistic, it represents much more than an equal number of men and women. It represents the fact that women are no longer limited by our surroundings or a lack of support, that women are now empowered to pursue what we are interested in. When we say, ‘women in STEM,’ it’s not just about getting more women in the workforce, it’s about making a safe and supportive environment for everyone.”