Black Girls Code (BGC) is one of the most recognized organizations in the women-of-color STEM education landscape — and one of the most frequently searched by parents, students, and educators looking for programs specifically serving Black girls and young women in computing. Founded in 2011 by Kimberly Bryant in San Francisco, BGC has operated workshops, hackathons, and summer immersion programs across the United States and internationally, introducing tens of thousands of Black girls ages 7–17 to programming, robotics, and digital arts. Understanding what BGC actually offers — programs, scholarships, pathways to college-level computing — requires distinguishing between the organization's programming education work and the broader scholarship landscape that supports Black women in computing, since these are related but distinct.
What Black Girls Code Does: Core Programs
Black Girls Code's primary programming has centered on Saturday coding workshops, hackathons, and multi-day immersion camps offered in cities across the US and internationally. The workshops introduce girls to programming through age-appropriate environments — Scratch and block-based coding for younger students, Python and web development for older participants — with an emphasis on project completion (building something you can show others) and community (working alongside other Black girls in technology).
The hackathon model has been particularly significant: BGC hackathons bring teams of girls together to build technology solutions to problems they identify in their own communities, with mentorship from Black women technologists, over a day or weekend. The combination of community problem-solving, visible mentors who share participants' backgrounds, and the structured achievement of finishing a project in a competitive-but-supportive environment produces measurably positive effects on participants' self-identification as potential technologists — a documented barrier for Black girls that BGC explicitly targets.
BGC has also run summer immersion programs — longer residential or day-program experiences that provide more intensive coding education than single-day workshops can offer. These programs have partnered with technology companies and universities in different years, and the structure varies.
Note: BGC has experienced organizational restructuring and leadership transitions in 2023–2024 that affected program availability and consistency in some regions. Prospective participants and parents should verify current program offerings directly on the BGC website, as the national workshop schedule has varied during this period.
BGC Scholarships: What Exists and What Doesn't
Black Girls Code does not maintain a large portfolio of named college scholarships in the way that the Society of Women Engineers or AAUW does. BGC's primary mission is K-12 program education, not scholarship administration for college students. However, several scholarship pathways are relevant to BGC alumnae and to Black women in computing more broadly:
Corporate partner scholarships channeled through BGC's network: Technology companies that partner with BGC (historically including Google, Microsoft, Dell, and others) have offered scholarships or sponsorships to BGC participants. These are typically announced through BGC's communication channels. BGC alumnae who stay connected to the organization's network via email and social media are best positioned to learn about these opportunities as they arise.
National scholarships specifically for Black women in computing: The United Negro College Fund (UNCF) and its technology partner Microsoft administer the UNCF/Microsoft Scholarship, which provides funding to Black students majoring in computing and related fields. The National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) administers scholarship programs for Black students in engineering and technology. The Thurgood Marshall College Fund provides scholarship support at HBCUs and at predominantly white institutions for Black college students including those in STEM fields.
HBCU-specific pathways: For Black women in computing who are considering historically Black colleges and universities, HBCU-specific funding sources (including Spelman College's significant financial aid program — Spelman produces one of the largest concentrations of Black women in CS per enrollment of any institution in the US) represent a distinct pathway that is worth understanding separately from the BGC network.
Spelman College: The HBCU Benchmark for Black Women in CS
Any discussion of Black women in computing must address Spelman College, the historically Black women's liberal arts college in Atlanta. Spelman produces Black women who go on to doctoral programs in computing at rates that are extraordinary for any institution — and particularly for a liberal arts college without a dedicated CS school. The combination of Spelman's women-only environment, its HBCU culture, its dual-degree engineering program with Georgia Tech (three years at Spelman, two years at Georgia Tech for a dual BA/BS), and its explicit mission to develop Black women leaders in science creates an environment that produces documented research outcomes for Black women in STEM.
BGC's founding in the San Francisco Bay Area, far from Spelman's Atlanta base, means that BGC and Spelman operate in overlapping but somewhat separate ecosystems. For Black girls in BGC programs who are beginning to think about college, Spelman is worth understanding as a pathway option — particularly for those interested in computing, mathematics, or the life sciences.
BGC in the Broader Women-of-Color STEM Landscape
Black Girls Code operates alongside and in collaboration with other organizations serving girls of color in STEM: CODE2040 (focused on Black and Latinx students in computer science at the college level and beyond), Latinas in Computing, the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, and the National GEM Consortium (which funds graduate education for underrepresented minorities in engineering and science).
For Black women in computing who are at the college and graduate level, these adjacent organizations often provide the scholarship and funding resources that BGC's K-12 focus does not directly address. Understanding the ecosystem — BGC for K-12 introduction, college-level organizations for undergraduate scholarships, graduate fellowship programs (NSF GRFP, GEM Fellowship) for doctoral funding — is more useful than looking for a single organization that does everything.
The OECD's data on women's representation in STEM across countries provides the international context for why organizations like BGC are necessary: the intersection of race and gender produces outcomes for Black women in computing that are distinct from the patterns affecting white women in STEM, requiring targeted responses rather than universal programs.
Applying for BGC Programs: Practical Guidance
BGC's workshops and hackathons typically open registration on a rolling basis and fill quickly in active chapters. Parents and students interested in BGC programming should: sign up for the BGC email list for their region; follow BGC's regional social media accounts; and check the BGC website for current program schedules. Workshop registration is typically free or low-cost; summer immersion programs may charge tuition with scholarship assistance available.
For educators who want to bring BGC programming to their school or community — rather than sending individual students to external BGC events — BGC has historically offered school partnership programs and club models. Verify current partnership availability on the BGC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Black Girls Code offer college scholarships?
BGC's primary mission is K-12 programming education, not college scholarship administration. Corporate technology partners occasionally channel scholarships to BGC participants through the organization's network. Black women in computing should also investigate UNCF/Microsoft scholarships, NSBE awards, GEM Consortium fellowships (graduate level), and HBCU-specific funding at institutions like Spelman College.
What does Black Girls Code teach?
Block-based coding (Scratch) for younger participants; Python, web development, and robotics for older students. Programming is taught through project-based workshops and hackathons focused on building technology that addresses community problems. The pedagogical approach emphasizes Black female mentors, collaborative project completion, and community-oriented problem framing.
What ages does Black Girls Code serve?
Primarily ages 7–17 across its core K-12 programming. College-age participants and alumnae connect to the BGC network through its partnership programs and alumni community but are not the primary program population. Black women in college and graduate school seeking scholarships should look to NSBE, CODE2040, and GEM Fellowship programs specifically.
Is Black Girls Code available internationally?
BGC has operated programs in South Africa, Nigeria, and other African countries in addition to its US chapters. International program availability varies; the organization's current international programming should be verified on the BGC website. The focus has primarily been the United States.
What is Spelman College's connection to Black women in computing?
Spelman College — a historically Black women's liberal arts college in Atlanta — produces Black women who go on to CS doctoral programs at rates exceptional for any institution. Its dual-degree engineering program with Georgia Tech, women-only HBCU environment, and explicit focus on developing Black women scientists make it a benchmark institution for Black women in computing. BGC and Spelman serve overlapping populations across different educational stages.