There is a huge variety of resources available to you, both within and outside of MIT, to help you work through issues; report problems; find personal, academic, and professional support; and even extend a helping hand to others. Take a moment to look through the resources available both within and outside of MIT.
EECS-Specific Resources and Opportunities
Educational and Research Opportunities
- MIT Summer Research Program (MSRP): for talented sophomores, juniors, and non-graduating seniors who might benefit from spending a summer on MIT’s campus, conducting research under the guidance of MIT faculty members, postdoctoral fellows, and advanced graduate students. If you are interested in being a mentor for this program, contact Amanda Beyer-Purvis
- MITES: A six-week science and engineering program at MIT for rising high school seniors from across the country. If you are interested in being a mentor for this program, contact staffapp@mit.edu
- MIT PRIMES: Program for Research in Mathematics, Engineering and Science for High School Students. A free year-long after-school program that offers research projects and guided reading to high school students from Greater Boston. Program participants work with MIT researchers on exciting unsolved problems in mathematics, computer science, and computational biology
- SuperUROP: The Advanced Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, better known as SuperUROP, is designed for MIT juniors and seniors seeking an advanced research experience working closely with a faculty advisor and producing publication-worthy results
- UROP: Collaborate with renowned MIT faculty on the exciting, real-world research happening across the Institute.
Mentoring & Networking Opportunities
- MIT EECS created the Rising Stars in EECS workshop series to encourage top early-career women in electrical engineering and computer science to explore life in academia.
- 6.811 and the AT Hackaton teach students about human disabilities, assistive technology, accessibility, humanistic co-design, rapid prototyping, and project management.
- LEAP Alliance website: LEAP Alliance – CMD-IT. MIT EECS is a member of the LEAP Alliance (p/k/a FLIP alliance), which seeks to address the broadening participation challenge of increasing the diversity of the future leadership in the professoriate in computing at research universities as a way to achieve diversity across the field. If you are interested in being a mentor for this program, contact Amanda Beyer-Purvis.
- MIT is a member of the GEM consortium, a network of leading corporations, government laboratories, top universities, and top research institutions that enables qualified students from underrepresented communities to pursue graduate education in applied science and engineering
- MIT is a member of Access Computing, where High school, college, and graduate students with disabilities can connect with mentors and professionals to learn about internships and other opportunities in computing fields (If you are interested in being a mentor for this program, contact Amanda Beyer-Purvis)
Student Associations and Programs within EECS
- THRIVE (Tools for Honing Resilience and Inspiring Voices of Empowerment): Empowering, supporting, and representing the diverse MIT Electrical Engineering and Computer Science graduate student community. Strengthening ties amongst students, providing peer-to-peer support, and driving sustainable cultural change.
- Women in EECS: a community for women in EECS that supports, encourages and empowers them to succeed.
- GW6 (Graduate Women in Course 6): provides EECS graduate women with an environment in which to develop mentorships and friendships and to gain support and encouragement in completing their degree.
- MIT EECS REFS Informal Conflict Management by EECS graduate students trained as peer mediators.
- USAGE: USAGE is the Undergraduate Student Advisory Group in EECS. USAGE meets weekly with departmental leadership to discuss issues relevant to the department, ranging from the undergraduate curriculum, to various Departmental initiatives, to issues of diversity and inclusion, to how MIT-wide plans will affect EECS undergraduates.
- RELAY: Graduate Student Group connected to the RLE lab
- GAAP: The Graduate Application Assistance Program (GAAP) is a student-run initiative offered by PhD students in the MIT EECS department. We pair applicants with current student volunteers, who mentor them 1:1 through the graduate application process, meeting periodically with applicants all the way up to the deadline.
- GFLI: Organization catered to first generation college graduates and low-income students (GFLI) across all MIT graduate programs!
MIT-Wide Resources and Opportunities
DEI Resources
The Institute Community and Equity Office (ICEO) is MIT’s home for amplifying MIT’s sense of community, inspiring meaningful conversations, building skills, and supporting new inclusion initiatives. The office maintains a list of programs and services within MIT that support this mission.
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- DEI Awards: MIT has a variety of ways to recognize outstanding community members who help make our Institute a place where we all feel that we belong. These awards are given to individual faculty, staff, students, alumni, and postdocs as well as offices or student groups that have enhanced the diversity of our community and elevated inclusive excellence through outreach and services.
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- DEI Committees and Groups: MIT hosts a tremendous range of committees and groups dedicated to advancing the Institute’s objectives and goals for diversity, equity, and inclusion. Participants in the groups, which are all organized around campus-wide mandates or charters, are drawn from academic, research, and administrative units all across MIT.
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- DEI Reports: MIT’s commitment to fostering a welcoming campus community is grounded in its work to understand and report on issues of diversity and inclusion. The ICEO maintains a partial listing of the most significant reports over decades authored by members of the MIT community—roadmaps and recommendations that have led to meaningful change.
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MIT Office of Minority Education
- In its mission to provide the best educational, community-building, and networking experiences for all students through the calendar year, the Office of Minority Education (OME) offers a wide range of programs and services.
Academic Support Resources
- Student Support Services (S^3) is a key resource to help undergraduate students.
- GradSupport: Staff in MIT’s Office of Graduate Education provide advice and counsel on a variety of issues, including: faculty/student relationships, changing your advisor, conflict negotiation, funding, academic progress, interpersonal concerns, and a student’s rights and responsibilities.
Health and Wellness Resources
Health and Mental Health Resources
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- MIT Health: Are you a student, parent, or MIT employee? Or are you new to the US healthcare system? Everything you need to know about getting care at MIT Health is right here.
- MIT Mental Health: MIT Health’s Student Mental Health & Counseling works with students to identify, understand, and solve problems, and to help transform that understanding into positive action.
- Peer Ears: A group of MIT students who are interested in emphasizing mental health resources on campus and are supporters in their communities. Peer Ears emphasizes tailored-to-living-group mental health discussions and working with the house team to create a working support network. Through workshops, one-on-one open hours, and general openness to talk they reach out to living groups to let them know they care, they want to help, and they understand.
- DoingWell At MIT: At MIT, focusing on your wellbeing by caring for your mind and body, fostering meaningful relationships, and finding purpose will help you to thrive not only in the classroom but in all aspects of your life. What wellbeing looks and feels like is different for everyone. Your starting point does not determine your limits. No matter where you are on your wellbeing journey, the resources throughout this page will help you discover your path.
- Student Support and Wellbeing | Division of Student Life: Student Wellbeing advances the Division of Student Life’s leading goal of making MIT known for its culture of wellbeing. We work with faculty, staff, and students across the Institute to coordinate programs and resources to help students prioritize their wellbeing by practicing healthy habits and getting support when they need it.
Reporting Misconduct and Harassment Resources
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- The Institute Discrimination & Harassment Response Office (IDHR) is a resource for the entire MIT community for concerns related to discrimination and discriminatory harassment, including for sexual misconduct under Title IX federal regulations.
- MIT Anonymous reporting hotline: MIT has established an anonymous reporting hotline for whistleblower or other complaints about suspected wrongdoing, violations of Institute policy, or troubling practices on campus.
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Outside of MIT Affinity Organizations and Conferences
Conferences
Mentoring/ Scholarships/ Fellowships/ Research Opportunities
- Computing Research Assocation-Widening Participation (CRA-WP) seeks to increase the success of underrepresented groups in computing research (summer research opportunities, scholarship opportunities)
- Out To Innovate: Organization empowering LGBTQ+ individuals in STEM by providing education, advocacy, professional development, networking, and peer support.
- NACME: National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering: NACME is at the forefront of the effort to build pathways to engineering and technology careers for high-achieving students. NACME seeks to transform corporate America by making a quantum leap forward in enhancing the supply of under-represented STEM professionals.
- AccessComputing at University of Washington. (If you are interested in being a mentor for this program, contact
- iAAMCS Institute for African-American Mentoring in Computing Sciences.
Scholarly Research on Equity in CS
- REAL-CS This research project is taking place in two different regions of the US. REAL_CS is working in partnership with teachers and students in the Los Angeles Unified School District, which is a majority Latinx urban schooling context. They are also working in partnership with teachers and students in the Northern and Delta regions of Mississippi, which are majority Black rural schooling contexts with a rich Civil Rights history.
- Leadership (ecepalliance.org) ECEP is a collective impact alliance dedicated to increasing equitable capacity for, access to, participation in, and experiences of computing education. ECEP state leaders focus on building and sustaining K-12 CS education ecosystems that systematically identify and address disparities in opportunities, outcomes and representation in computing education. To achieve sustained, systems-level change in a state, ECEP leaders focus on implementing policies, pathways, and practices that advance equity at scale
- EngageCSE – A collection of 1) instructional materials that are faculty-contributed and peer-reviewed for introductory CS courses, 2) engagement practices that provide a framework of research-based teaching practices that support diversity, and 3) community building recommendations from faculty committed to broadening participation in computing through great pedagogy.
Best Practices, and Tips for Broadening Participation in Computing (BPC)
BPC Document and Resources for EECS
BPC Document for EECS
- NSF and CRA free consulting on BPC plans: CRA and BPCnet, with funding from the National Science Foundation, are pleased to offer a free consultancy service. This consultancy service provides an opportunity for departments and project PIs at higher-ed institutions in the United States to receive feedback from BPC experts on their BPC Plans
- BPCnet Resource Portal: The BPCnet Resource Portal seeks to amplify efforts in broadening participation in computing. As such, BPCnet has curated a number of resources that may be helpful to PIs or Departments who are writing their BPC Plans
- Workshops: learn about BPC project plans
Easy Tips to make your classroom/lab more equitable
Are you looking to bring more inclusive practices to your classroom?
Take some time to look through this library of practices that is a collection of evidence-based, field-tested, resource guides outlining practical approaches that instructors can use in their courses to promote engagement, increase equity in students’ experiences of their learning environments, and support academic success.
You can learn about:
- Creating a More Inclusive and Accessible Syllabus
- Social Belonging for College Students
- Establishing Expectations: A Growth Mindset Approach
- Communicating with Students in Times of Collective Crisis
Below you will find four modules that will provide a short overview of inclusive practices. You can navigate by clicking on the images below, or the “modules” section in the navigation bar.
Modules
Growth mindset is a term coined by Dr. Carol Dweck that describes peoples’ beliefs about their ability to learn, develop, succeed, or fail. In her research, she found that individuals have two types of mindsets – fixed and growth mindset. People with fixed mindset believe their ability is fixed – it’s what they are born with and it cannot change. If they fail, they believe it is because their abilities are limited. People with growth mindset, however, believe their abilities can change as they learn, practice, and put in effort. Growth mindset sees challenges as normal and expected in the process of learning and trying new things. If a concept is not mastered right away, that is seen as an opportunity to provide feedback for improvement.
Developing a growth mindset is important to developing an inclusive environment because it can increase student engagement, but also decrease identity threat.
Quick tips on cultivating a growth mindset in your classroom:
- Use language that communicates the ability for your students to grow.
- Communicate pre-requisite and necessary skills by using language that indicates that the student is learning – they may need to review past material, talk with peers/TAs/instructors to grasp the material fully
- Share resources, such as videos (ex: Khan Academy), study groups via the University, office hours, etc. that can further the student engage with the material
- Use entry and exit tickets to understand what students are understanding and/or need more instruction and resources
- Use exam wrappers to help students figure out the areas they need help or are struggling with, pre and post exam.
To learn more about growth mindset, play the video below.
Social belonging is when a student feels they are part of the learning community. Having a sense of social belonging is associated with improved student well-being, academic engagement, and performance. Belonging uncertainty (the concern that people have about the extent to which they belong) is negatively associated with achievement, performance, and well-being.
Most students question their social belonging and it’s important to help students understand that belonging concerns are normal, part of the college transition, and do not signal a lack of belonging or academic potential. Keep in mind that students from underrepresented groups or who belong to groups that are negatively stereotyped are likely to feel like they do not belong due to their awareness of cultural stigmas and stereotypes.
Quick tips on encouraging social belong:
- At the beginning of the term, share a personal or student story about facing and overcoming belonging experiences. Communicate how it got better over time with building relationships
- Use language to reassure students during important and/or transitional periods during the schoolyear (ex: at the beginning of the term, before midterms, before an exam, etc.)
For more information on social belonging, please watch the video below.
Inclusive Climate environments and classrooms communicate that students are welcome, belong, and are part of the community, regardless of background (includes race, gender, socioeconomic status, ability/disability, etc.). It is important to support all students, especially if they are from a background that is negatively stereotyped in college settings. Below are some key terms to keep in mind for inclusive teaching.
Definitions
- Social Identity threat: The worry that they [student] will be viewed in terms of their social group stereotype and not as an individual. This anxiety or concern happens when a students’ social group is underrepresented, negatively stereotyped, or devalued.
- Stereotype threat: A type of social identity threat. This happens when someone feels they are confirming a negative stereotype of a group they belong to. When students are placed in situations that may confirm a negative stereotype about a students’ identity, students may experience increased stress, reduced working memory, and impaired performance. Click here for information on how to mitigate stereotype threat in the classroom.
- Microaggressions: Subtle, everyday, intentional and unintentional interactions that communicate a bias towards a historically marginalized group.
Quick tips on developing an inclusive climate:
- Use materials (videos, readings, etc.) from individuals from diverse background, including gender, race, ability, disability, and other identities, within your course
- Use diverse and counter-stereotypic images on course slides and other material.
- Learn how to pronounce culturally diverse names
- Communicate observance of religious holidays, school life conflict policy, etc.
To learn more about stereotype threat and implicit bias in higher education, watch this video below:
Wise feedback considers students’ experience of receiving feedback. It uses growth mindset messaging to convey that the instructor believes that the student can succeed. By using growth mindset messaging, the instructor can convey critical comments on exams and assignments that develops trusts. However, the instructor must remember to clearly communicate the intent of the feedback (i.e., help students grow their ability) and alleviate concerns that the evaluation of work is based off negative stereotyping or discrimination.
Wise feedback should contain three important elements:
- Communicate that you and this course have high standards
- Communicate that you believe the student can meet these standards
- Provide actionable feedback that points to where/how a student can improve their work.
Watch the video below on how to give feedback: