Women In Science & Engineering

What Women In Science & Engineering does

Women In Science & Engineering (WISE) is a University of Michigan program founded in 1980 to advance gender equity in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Operating with approximately 12 staff, WISE serves U-M undergraduate and graduate students through a portfolio of structured programs including residential summer camps, the WISE Mentors and Ambassadors programs, the Science Success Series speaker program, and a student organization grant mechanism. In academic year 2023–2024, the unit hosted more than 80 events reaching over 1,800 students. In 2013 the program expanded from its original College of Engineering scope to a University of Michigan-wide mandate, and recent activity has extended its footprint to K-12 audiences and Detroit-based programming.

WISE operates a hybrid funding model combining University of Michigan institutional support and donor contributions with modest programmatic fees. The Girls in Science and Engineering (GISE) residential summer camp charges $475 per participant, while affiliated student organizations may apply for grants of up to $500 per application and $3,000 per academic year. Programmatic reach spans multiple U-M schools and colleges including Engineering, LSA, and the School of Music, Theatre & Dance.

The unit's positioning is anchored in 40+ years of programmatic continuity, alumni engagement, and high-visibility recognition such as the 2000 Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring. Recent strategic activity has focused on expanding the addressable pipeline — including K-12 outreach via GISE and Detroit-based programming such as WISE@Detroit — rather than commercial expansion. There is no indication of venture funding, external equity, commercial revenue generation, or technology-product development.

Name

Women In Science & Engineering

Legal name

Women in Science and Engineering

Website

https://wise.umich.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Women In Science & Engineering (WISE) is a University of Michigan program founded in 1980 that supports women in STEM through mentoring, residential camps, ambassadors, and grants, serving 1,800+ students annually.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

STEM Equity Education Services

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)

akta.pro primary industry

STEM, Digital Literacy & Maker Education Nonprofits (BPAGADAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

STEM & Maker Education (Makerspaces, Coding Clubs, Robotics) (EDAAAFAL), STEM Research & Inquiry Programs (Research Mentorship, Science Fair Prep) (EDAMABAC), Gifted & Talented Education (GATE) Programs (EDAJAGAA)

Keywords

• STEM equity programs
• Women in STEM mentorship
• K-12 STEM outreach
• Academic success workshops
• STEM community building

Headquarters

HQ city

Ann Arbor

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. University Funding: WISE is a University of Michigan unit funded through institutional support.
2. Donations and Charitable Contributions: WISE accepts donations from alumni and community supporters to provide scholarships for fee-based student summer programs, support and expand programming, explore new programming options, support research on gender equity, and bring outstanding women scientists to campus as seminar speakers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

WISE (Women in Science & Engineering) is a University of Michigan unit that provides community-building events, academic success workshops, STEM skills training, career development programming, and peer mentorship to increase the percentage of female-identifying and gender-minoritized students graduating with STEM degrees and pursuing STEM careers. It also operates K-12 outreach through the paid WISE GISE summer camp and supports student organizations through grants.

Product overview

WISE (Women in Science & Engineering) is an educational equity program at the University of Michigan, not a technology product company. It operates as a unified program offering multiple interconnected services: K-12 summer camps (WISE GISE), student support platforms (WISE Hub), peer and professional mentoring (WISE Mentors, WISE and Shine), leadership development (WISE Ambassadors), academic workshops (Science Success Series), community events (over 80 WISE Events annually), student organization funding (Grants), and recognition programs (Willie Hobbs Moore Awards). These offerings work together to increase the participation and success of women and gender minorities in STEM.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Willie Hobbs Moore Awards: Annual awards established to honor faculty, staff, and students who demonstrate excellence promoting STEM as a pathway for all learners, named in honor of Willie Hobbs Moore, the first African American woman to earn a BS and MS in electrical engineering and the first African American woman in the country to earn a PhD in physics.
• WISE GISE

Products and services

• WISE GISE (Girls in Science & Engineering Camp) A paid summer day camp ($475 per five-day session) for rising 7th, 8th, and 9th grade students offering hands-on STEM experiences on the University of Michigan Ann Arbor campus. Includes instructional costs, supplies, and equipment. Need-based scholarships available.
• WISE Hub An online resource hub within Canvas (Instructure LMS) that helps students find resources for academic success, career development, and STEM support across six main areas of their lives, delivering WISE information directly to students.
• WISE Mentors Peer mentoring program where fellow students serve as mentors, host office hours, and facilitate social and networking events such as Mindful Mondays, WISE Advice, and WISE Night In.
• WISE Ambassadors Student leadership program providing 12 students with leadership roles within WISE to help scale the organization's impact and support gender equity in STEM.
• Science Success Series Weekly drop-in workshops for STEM students to ask questions about courses and majors. Partnered with LSA Science Learning Center and LSA Newnan Advising Center. Events hosted by WISE Mentors. 48 workshops delivered in 2023-2024.
• Student Organization Grants Funding program supporting student organizations that align with WISE's mission. Organizations can apply for up to $500 per application with a maximum of $3,000 per academic year per organization. Offered on a rolling basis until depleted.
• Willie Hobbs Moore Awards Annual awards honoring faculty, staff, and students who demonstrate excellence promoting STEM as a pathway for all learners. Includes Achievement, Mentoring, Trailblazer, and STEM Equity Leadership awards.
• WISE Events Over 80 events each academic year including community building, academic workshops, networking, and professional development events. Includes the Science Success Series for undergraduates and Grad Groups for graduate students and postdocs.
• WISE and Shine Series Series connecting U-M students with alumnae who have succeeded as STEM professionals to help students envision possibilities and pathways for their future.

Quantifiable outcome

• Approximately 40% of WISE summer camp attendees eventually matriculate at University of Michigan
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• WISE Residence Program (WISE RP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWISE is a proud partner of the WISE Residence Program, a supportive living-learning community located in Mosher-Jordan Hall. The partnership provides first and second year women with integrated academic and residential experiences to support and retain a diverse population in STEM. Contact: [email protected]
• LSA Science Learning CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWISE continued its long-standing partnership with the LSA Science Learning Center to expand the Science Success Series, which includes student-led events hosted by WISE Mentors. These weekly drop-in events help students with questions about STEM courses and majors.
• LSA Newnan Advising CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with LSA Newnan Advising Center to expand the Science Success Series, providing academic support resources for STEM students at U-M.
• CRLT PlayersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn 1995, WISE started the CRLT Players program, a groundbreaking initiative that uses interactive theater to show faculty how to integrate equitable and inclusive teaching principles into the classroom. Some of the original WISE scripts about gender in the classroom are still used today.
• Center for Educational Outreach (YouthHub)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWISE connects students to YouthHub, a searchable database of all UM outreach opportunities for pre-college students, created by the Center for Educational Outreach in 2018. WISE programs are listed on this platform alongside other U-M outreach opportunities.
• miRcoreminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributormiRcore summer camps are available for academically motivated high school students. WISE refers students to these camps which offer intensive experience in Computational Biology, including coding for research, advanced lab techniques, and gene sequencing. New this year: campers can sequence their own genome!
• GirlsGetMath @DearbornminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGirlsGetMath is a summer mathematics program at U-M Dearborn for rising 10th-12th grade students in the Metro Detroit area. The free program explores applied mathematics topics including image processing, graph theory, voting mathematics, recommendation systems, and cryptography.
• Girls in Music and Technology (GiMaT)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGiMaT is a 2-week commuter summer camp operated by U-M's School of Music, Theater & Dance with support from U-M WISE. The program teaches students to make, edit, program, and record their own music using state-of-the-art labs. Need-based funding available.
• University Career Alumni Network (UCAN)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWISE encourages alumni to join UCAN (the University Career Alumni Network) as a way for off-campus community members to engage with WISE and current students through mentorship and career connections.
• MAVERIC Lab (Computer Science and Engineering)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe MAVERIC Lab hosts AI Inside and Out, an intensive hands-on experience with both software and hardware sides of AI. WISE supports and refers students to this program.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Caltech WISE (Caltech Women in Science and Engineering): Caltech WISE is a near-direct namesake peer operating a university-based STEM equity program for women and underrepresented minorities with similar programming (mentorship, community events, outreach). The comparable structure — a dedicated university unit offering K-12 through graduate support — makes it the closest functional mirror to U-M WISE.
• Purdue Women in Engineering Program (WIEP): Purdue's WIEP runs a comparable university STEM equity program focused on recruiting, retaining, and graduating women in engineering, including K-12 outreach camps and undergraduate mentoring — a direct functional peer to WISE's programming mix.
• University of Texas Austin Women in Engineering Program (WEP): UT Austin's WEP is a long-standing university STEM equity program offering K-12 outreach, undergraduate mentoring, and graduate support similar to U-M WISE; it is one of the most established direct comparables in the public university space.

Broad incumbents

• Society of Women Engineers (SWE): SWE is the largest national professional organization advancing women in engineering, with university chapter programming and K-12 outreach. It is a broader incumbent operating at national scale rather than a single-university unit, but the mission and target audience closely overlap with WISE.
• Association for Women in Science (AWIS): AWIS is a national advocacy and professional development organization for women in STEM across academia and industry. It is comparable to WISE in mission but operates at the national advocacy level rather than within a single university.
• National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT): NCWIT is a national coalition working to increase women's participation in computing and technology. It complements WISE's mission at a national/policy scale and shares the K-12-through-career programming model.

Emerging players

• Girls Who Code: Girls Who Code runs K-12 coding education and summer immersion programs focused on girls in computing. It overlaps with WISE's K-12 pipeline mission (especially the WISE coding bootcamp for high schoolers) but operates nationally rather than as a university unit.

Others

• Center for Educational Outreach (University of Michigan): U-M's Center for Educational Outreach operates the YouthHub database and Watson Young scholarship that WISE refers students to. As an internal enabling partner within the same institution, it is ecosystem-adjacent rather than a competitor, but it is materially comparable in K-12 STEM pipeline work.

Regional players

• Center for Engineering Diversity and Outreach (U-M CEDO): U-M CEDO is the sibling unit within the University of Michigan that partners with WISE on broadening participation in engineering. It serves the same institution and overlapping student populations but with an engineering-specific (rather than cross-STEM) focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/reels
• Instagraminstagram.com/wise_umich

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Women In Science & Engineering