50,000 DIVERSE ENGINEERS GRADUATING ANNUALLY BY 2025
THE TIME IS NOW
Why 50K?
The U.S. produces about 93K engineers per year at the bachelor's degree level; only 30K are from underrepresented minority populations or are women.
OUR STORY
The Genesis of 50K
The coalition was formed by the nation’s preeminent diversity engineering organizations.
A UNIQUE MOVEMENT
The Promise of 50K
The Coalition will collaborate to create a comprehensive plan to change the public perception of engineering and encourage a diversified field of study, one that includes more women and members of other underrepresented groups.
The 50K Coaliton is brought to you by the generous support of:
United Engineering Foundation
National Science Foundation
Shell Oil Company - Founding 50K Backbone Partner
The 50k Coalition
Leadership Circle
Sarah EchoHawk
CEO, AISES
Karl W. Reid, Ed.D.
EXEC. DIRECTOR, NSBE
Raquel Tamez
CEO, SHPE
Karen Horting, CAE
EXEC. DIRECTOR, CEO, SWE
Building A National Goal
The 50K Coalition is a collaborative of more than 40 organizations focused on a bold national goal: to produce 50,000 diverse engineering graduates annually by 2025. The coalition was formed by the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES), the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) and the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), the nation’s preeminent diversity engineering organizations, which collectively serve more than 85,000 pre-collegiate, collegiate and professional members. The expertise and more than 188 years of collective experience of the coalition’s founding organizations perfectly position them to tackle the coalition’s goal.
Academic obstacles to retention
High school math & college "weed-out" courses
STEM culture and climate barriers to retention. Barriers to community college transfer.
Barriers created by an inadequate public understanding of engineering
Transfer rates from community colleges to four-year institutions are low overall, and lower in STEM majors
"Coming together is a beginning: keeping together is progress: working together is success."