Our Goals

The camps were founded as a joint effort of The Institute for Education and The USC Department of Computer Science to provide students with an early education into computer science, engineering, and applied physical science. The camps are not designed to convince students to major in these fields when they reach college but rather to allow them to make an informed decision about different fields that may not receive as much exposure as ones they see on a daily basis. Studies have shown that students who are exposed to computer science and engineering fields at a young age are more likely to excel in academic fields such as science and mathematics.

The K-12 STEM Center develops strategies and builds initiatives to meet the needs of a diverse population, specifically in efforts to increase the representation of female students and African American/Black, Hispanic/LatinX, Native/Indigenous students in its STEM programs, such as CS@SC Coding Camps. Some of those efforts include outreach, mentorship, and scholarships. However, all STEM Center programs are open to all students in compliance with Federal and State law, as well as University policy.

Camp Objectives

_{By the end of the week, the objectives that we want to achieve are to:}

• Help students understand the fundamentals of programming.
• Help student’s understanding what it means to write a program and how to use basic programming constructs.
• Build student confidence in coding skills and knowledge.
• Develop student’s interest in coding.
• Have access to high-quality Near-Peer Mentors in STEM.
• Understand the value and impact of computer science in today’s society.