Amazon is committed to providing access to computer science education for 2 million students, across almost 8,000 U.S. schools, by the end of the 2022–2023 academic year.
Through Amazon Future Engineer, Amazon aims to inspire millions of students from underserved and historically underrepresented communities to pursue science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers. The program helps students build skills in computer science and coding, preparing them to obtain jobs that will be in high-demand in the near future.
Nearly all Amazon Future Engineer schools serve a student body with a significant percentage of students from historically underrepresented communities in the technology industry. Further, more than 80% are Title I eligible, indicating a high percentage of the school’s students come from families who need financial assistance.
While the Amazon Future Engineer program has made tremendous progress since it began in 2019, studies show that only about half of U.S. high schools offer computer science courses. Rural, urban, and economically disadvantaged schools with Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) students are even less likely to offer the curriculum.
“Every young person should have equitable access to the education they need to reach their full potential,” said Victor Reinoso, global director of philanthropic education initiatives at Amazon. “At Amazon, we are committed to creating a diverse pipeline of tech students and hiring homegrown talent to help keep our communities strong for years to come.”
Amazon Future Engineer increases student access to computer science education in three ways:
- Funds high-quality computer science curriculum and educator professional learning to help school districts implement sustainable K–12 computer science initiatives. As part of this effort, Amazon funds the development of customized curriculum that accounts for the unique cultural perspectives, interests, and experiences of Black, Latino, Native American (BLNA) students. For instance, Amazon Future Engineer committed $2.25 million to support Indigenous schools in accessing culturally responsive computer science curriculums.
- Offers virtual class chats, career tours, and project-based learning modules that bring role models to classrooms to help students explore computer science through real-world experiences.
- Provides college scholarships, paid internships, and industry mentors, so students can conceptualize their path forward in the industry.
"Our partnership with Amazon represents a shared commitment to increase access to equity-driven initiatives that will help close digital learning gaps by ensuring computer science opportunities for students in all communities,” said Lien Diaz, interim executive director and board member of BootUp PD, a nonprofit professional development provider specializing in elementary school education. “It is the first ongoing national sponsorship focused on implementing sustainable, districtwide computer science. We’re extremely proud to be a part of something that will have a measurable, positive impact for decades to come.”
Amazon Future Engineer is currently available in Canada, France, Germany, India, the UK and U.S. In 2022, the program reached 3.2 million students from underrepresented communities globally with real-world-inspired virtual and hands-on computer science project learning.
Learn more about Amazon Future Engineer, Amazon's childhood-to-career computer science education program.
