They're also paired with two female mentors - a faculty member and a graduate student. Since taking the VIMS job in 1994, Canuel said she has noticed an increase in female peers nationally. There are also more women in leadership roles, she said. And women make up half of the VIMS student body. But there are still significant gaps.
Men also dominate physics and engineering courses, according to the association's study.
At VIMS, a division of the College of William and Mary, only six of the school's 62 teaching and research faculty members are women. Numbers are similar nationally. Haag attributes the shortage of women to several factors, including the shortage of hands-on offerings in science and math classes. That makes programs such as the VIMS internship important tools in attracting future female scientists. Each has been more challenging.