The MIT Women’s Technology Program (WTP) was founded in 2002, and its current four-week program is the Mechanical Engineering track (WTP-ME) for 11th graders. Students live in MIT dorms and learn the engineering design process through active learning from MIT graduate students, in subjects modeled on MIT’s introductory mechanical engineering classes. Before the program ends, pairs of students present a poster project, and teams of four build multi-step machines for a Rube Goldberg Challenge. The 2027 program runs June 26 to July 24.
Places are very limited. The WTP FAQ says it expects to admit 20 students, typically receives more than 300 applications a year, and has historically received 380 to 650 completed applications. WTP is women-focused and looks for students who excel in math and science but have little or no engineering background. Fees are tiered by family income, free at $120,000 or less and up to $20,000 at the top tier. Applicants must live in the US year round, and no citizenship requirement is listed.
WTP has no connection to MIT undergraduate admissions, and WTP states that acceptance or non-acceptance has no bearing on a later MIT application. Its value is giving students who are undecided about a major four weeks to see whether engineering fits them. WTP reports that more than 70% of WTP-ME alumni who have declared a major chose engineering or computer science.
