Women's Technology Program

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

When classes end, students have self-determined evening schedules to do homework, relax with friends, or participate in planned or impromptu WTP activities such as group cooking, study sessions, eating ice cream, and video and game nights in the dorm.

On weekends, students are encouraged to take advantage of the many nearby opportunities Boston and Cambridge have to offer. There are some group outings led by WTP staff members (with tickets and public transit fares provided) throughout the four weeks, including museum visits, sightseeing, and a trip to the beach. The July 4th fireworks display in the Charles River is directly visible from the dorm. Karaoke night is another favorite activity. WTP students do not have access to MIT athletic facilities (WTP is not a "camp"), but students often go running in groups around campus, or play pickup games of frisbee or soccer.

Students are free to leave campus as long as they are accompanied by another WTP student or staff member; we also ask them to sign out on the board indicating where, when, and with whom they are going off campus. If a parent wishes to grant special permission for the student to leave campus one day with family or non-WTP friends, we ask that you make the request in writing and also phone our office. The student should also check the WTP schedule to ensure that there are no mandatory WTP evening or weekend activities before arranging to meet with family or friends.

There is a curfew check-in time, after which students must remain in the dorm: 11:00 pm Sunday through Thursday, midnight Friday and Saturday.

Housing

All participants live on the MIT campus in an undergraduate dormitory, McCormick Hall, on three floors reserved exclusively for WTP. Students will have one, two, or three roommates, and share group bathroom facilities and a kitchen on each floor. A carefully chosen and trained staff of MIT undergraduate and graduate students live with the WTP students. The WTP Directors do not live in the dorm, but are on call 24 hours a day to provide guidance and supervision.

Dining

Each student upon arrival receives an MIT Dining card containing enough funds to purchase meals for the four weeks; cards can be used in the on-campus food courts open during the summer and at the convenience store/deli in the MIT Student Center. We also stock the dorm kitchens with staples for all to eat such as breakfast cereals, juices, milk, and fruit. Special orientation weekend dinners welcome students and staff the first Saturday and Sunday of WTP; a goodbye banquet the final Friday of the program is for students, staff, and invited VIP guests who help make WTP possible. There are also occasional guest speaker lunches for the students throughout the four weeks.

Boston and Cambridge offer a wide variety of restaurants for students wishing to dine off campus using their own funds.