Success Factors and Challenges Faced by First and Second-Year Undergraduate Female Students in Computer Science-Related Majors

There is a significant gap in the number of women who go into college as computer science majors and decide to pursue the field in the workforce. There are challenges present for female students since the start of their education that their male counterparts do not face, which ultimately contributes to this gender gap. Such challenges include a lack of mentorship, a feeling of not belonging, and a dearth of resources to engage students in computer science. Research and studies that explore the first two years of college for female students who are majoring in computer science or computer science-related subjects are lacking. By studying this population, there are implications for both retention and success for these students who have already decided on such a major that they can parlay into a career in the workforce. This phenomenological study using qualitative methods aims to inform best practices as identified by first and second-year female college students in computer science-related majors. 15 participants were selected who met such criteria and were interviewed based on research questions addressing their measures of success, challenges, and strategies to inform best practices that could have implications for K-12 classrooms as well as third-year and beyond college students majoring in computer science to address the gender gap in the field. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]