First Bytes

11/11/2020 - Two UT undergraduate leaders talk about the Department of Computer Science’s new endowment and what it means for future students“This time, this summer, in the context of social change and everything, things just finally fell into place,” said Audra Collins, a computer science senior at The University of Texas at Austin. Collins is president of the Association of Black Computer Scientists (ABCS), which seeks to create paths to educational and professional success for Black and other underrepresented students in this major.

12/05/2018 - In 2016, Google reported that only six out of ten schools (K-12) offered at least one computer science class. While there continues to be an upward trend in the number of schools offering these classes, many students still lack exposure to programming. Texas Computer Science is changing that.

07/30/2018 - More than just a summer camp for creating memories and making new friends, First Bytes opens up a wide variety of opportunities in computer science for high school girls and helps build a community of women in the tech industry.

04/19/2016 - By Jamey Smith  

04/14/2016 - The University of Texas Department of Computer Science (UTCS) has been selected as one of two NCWIT Second Place NEXT Award winners. The department has won this accolade for its achievements in recruiting and retaining women into UTCS and for it’s successful allocation of resources towards building a department-wide culture of support and community for women.

06/27/2014 - The twelfth annual First Bytes Summer Camp, sponsored by UTCS, kicked off on June 15th on the university campus. The free weeklong camp showcases the potential of a career in technology to selected Texas high school girls.

03/24/2014 - It’s no secret that women in tech are far more rare than they should be. At UT Computer Science, however, First Bytes is working to change this by reaching out to girls at a time when their career paths are still somewhat undecided. Established eleven years ago, First Bytes is a one-week camp for high school girls designed to ignite enthusiasm for computer science and dispel myths about the field that keep women from participating.

02/04/2014 - Freescale Foundation has chosen First Bytes Summer Camp as one of six 2013 grant recipients. Funding from the Freescale Foundation will be used to provide room and board, field trips and supplies for campers.

06/28/2012 - The tenth annual First Bytes Summer Camp, sponsored by UTCS, kicked off on June 17 on the university campus. The free, weeklong camp showcases the potential of a rewarding career in technology to selected Texas high school girls. Campers work together on programming language labs and logic games, see surgical robots in action, meet professional computer scientists, get career mentoring, play games, enjoy campus life and get a taste of what it’s like to have a fascinating, well-paying job.

06/28/2011 - An important catalyst driving women into the field of computer science is the concerted effort made by many schools to encourage women to do so. At the University of California, Berkeley, the director of diversity in the department of electrical engineering and computer science is spearheading a drive to get women into the field. The University of Texas hosts a free one-week camp for 60 high school girls called First Bytes.