Teradyne is proud to be a supporter of UNCF and its STEM program. UNCF is the nation’s largest and most effective minority education organization with a mission to build a robust and nationally recognized pipeline of underrepresented students who become highly qualified college graduates.
In the world of STEM education, UNCF offers a variety of programs dedicated to helping young African American students majoring in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to achieve their career goals. Together, Teradyne and UNCF are collaborating to address a widening gap in Black students pursuing careers in STEM-related fields.
Black and Hispanic workers remain underrepresented in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) workforce compared with their share of all workers, including in computing jobs, which have seen considerable growth in recent years. Current trends in STEM degree attainment reveal Black and Hispanic adults are less likely to earn degrees in STEM than other degree fields, and they continue to make up a lower share of STEM graduates relative to their share of the adult population.
To help address this situation, Teradyne has established a UNCF STEM Scholarship Program, which offers support for Black/African American junior and senior college students attending a historically Black college or university, along with other universities, majoring in a STEM field. We offer 15 scholarships annually. In addition to the scholarship piece of our partnership with UNCF, we also offer internships and co-ops for college students (sophomores through current graduates) as well as full-time roles with majors or degrees in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, Marketing, Supply Chain Management, and Business Management.
For more than seven decades, UNCF has raised more than $5 billion and helped more than 500,000 students to not only attend college, but thrive, graduate, and become leaders in their fields. UNCF has accomplished this by awarding more than 10,000 student scholarships, amounting to over $100 million each year, providing financial support to 37 historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), and by serving as the nation’s leading advocate for the importance of minority education and community engagement.
Since its founding in 1944, UNCF has helped to more than double the number of minorities attending college. The six-year graduation rate for UNCF African American scholarship recipient is 70% – 11% higher than the national average and 31% higher than the national average for all African Americans. They have had a substantial impact on furthering the education and building a foundation for a bright future for people of color in the United States.
While totaling only 3% of all colleges and universities, UNCF institutions and other historically Black colleges and universities are highly effective, awarding 13% of bachelor’s degrees, 5% of master’s degrees, 10% of doctoral degrees and 24% of all STEM degrees earned by Black students in higher education.
And more work remains to be done, especially in STEM degrees among Black college and university graduates.
UNCF envisions a nation where all Americans have equal access to a college education that prepares them for rich intellectual lives, competitive and fulfilling careers, engaged citizenship and service to the nation. The organization’s North Star is to increase the total annual number of African American college graduates by focusing on activities that ensure more students are college-ready, enroll in college and persist to graduation. This is done through a three-pillar strategy: positioning member institutions as a viable college option for students and investing in institutional capacity to improve student outcomes; creating transformational support programs to ensure students are enrolling and persisting through college completion; and building awareness of educational attainment and cultivating college-going behaviors within the African American community.
Teradyne is pleased to support this important mission to increase STEM diversity.