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AccessComputing

The goal of The Alliance for Access to Computing Careers (AccessComputing) is to increase the participation of people with disabilities in computing fields. AccessComputing collaborators apply evidence-based practices to:

  • increase the number of students with disabilities successfully pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees and careers in computing fields.
  • increase the capacity of postsecondary computing departments to fully include students with disabilities in computing courses and programs.
  • create a nationwide resource to help students with disabilities pursue computing fields and computing educators and employers, professional organizations, and other stakeholders develop more inclusive programs and share effective practices, including promising practices nationwide.

For Students With Disabilities: The following documents provide more information and forms for joining AccessComputing activities.

  • AccessComputing Team Application - for high school, college, and graduate students with disabilities who would like to engage in stimulating conversations with each other and with mentors and learn about internship and other opportunities in computing fields.
  • Advancing Deaf & Hard of Hearing in Computing - an AccessComputing project specifically devoted to increasing the participation of individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing in computing fields.
  • Summer Academy for Advancing Deaf & Hard of Hearing in Computing - a 9-week summer program on the campus of the University of Washington, designed for deaf and hard of hearing students with skills in math and/or science who may be considering computing as a career, either in industry or academia, and are ready to enter or are in college.
  • The Student Lounge - a comprehensive website for preparing for and succeeding in college and careers.

AccessComputing activities help students with disabilities reach critical junctures on a path toward college studies and careers in computing fields. Most efforts of AccessComputing serve individuals with a wide variety of disabilities; some activities are specially designed for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.

For Faculty and Staff: The following documents provide more information and forms for joining AccessComputing activities.

AccessComputing outcomes will benefit society by making computing opportunities available to more citizens and enhancing computing fields with the perspectives of people with disabilities. For more information about this Alliance, consult the article AccessComputing: An Alliance to Increase the Participation of Individuals with disabilities in Computing Careers.

AccessComputing is led by the Department of Computer Science and Engineering and DO-IT at the University of Washington. AccessComputing institutional partners are Gallaudet University, Landmark College, and Rochester Institute of Technology. Alliance partners are AccessSTEM, EAST, MIDWEST, RASEM2, National Center for Women and Information Technology, National Girls Collaborative Project, Commonwealth Alliance for Information Technology Education, Computing Alliance of Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Empowering Leadership: Computing Scholars of Tomorrow, and Advancing Robotics Technology for Societal Impact Alliance. If you are interested in knowing how you can participate in AccessComputing send an inquiry to accesscomp@u.washington.edu. It is funded by the National Science Foundation as part of the Broadening Participation in Computing (BPC) program of the Directorate for Computer and Information Sciences and Engineering (CISE) (grant #CNS-0540615 and CNS-0837508).