Graduate Women in Science (GWIS), also known as Sigma Delta Epsilon, is an organization for female graduate students in science

Science

Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...

, first established in 1921.

Membership is open to anyone, regardless of sex, who has at least a bachelor's degree

Bachelor's degree

A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...

 in a scientific discipline. The organization is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that works to assist women in science

Women in science

Women have made contributions and sacrifices to science from the earliest times. Like many men in science, women have received little or no distinction for their work during their lifetimes. Science is generally and historically a male-dominated field, and evidence suggests that this is due to...

. It does so through offering grants, award

Award

An award is something given to a person or a group of people to recognize excellence in a certain field; a certificate of excellence. Awards are often signifiedby trophies, titles, certificates, commemorative plaques, medals, badges, pins, or ribbons...

s, and fellowship

Scholarship

A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...

s; holding annual conferences and sponsoring additional meetings and symposia

Academic conference

An academic conference or symposium is a conference for researchers to present and discuss their work. Together with academic or scientific journals, conferences provide an important channel for exchange of information between researchers.-Overview:Conferences are usually composed of various...

; publishing the quarterly GWIS Bulletin; and promoting the participation and representation of women in science fair

Science fair

A science fair is generally a competition where contestants present their science project results in the form of a report, display board, and models that they have created. Science fairs allow students in grade schools and high schools to compete in science and/or technology activities...

s.

GWIS was established in 1921 at Cornell University

Cornell University

Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...

 in Ithaca, New York

Ithaca, New York

The city of Ithaca, is a city in upstate New York and the county seat of Tompkins County, as well as the largest community in the Ithaca-Tompkins County metropolitan area...

. In keeping with the Greek system of naming chapters, the Cornell chapter became the "Alpha chapter" when the second ("Beta") chapter was added in 1922. The organization currently has 20 chapters throughout the United States and is headquartered in Avon, Massachusetts

Avon, Massachusetts

At the 2000 census, there were 4,443 people, 1,705 households and 1,220 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,014.7 per square mile . There were 1,740 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 93.45% White, 3.74% African American, 0.27% Native...

.

The GWIS National Meeting is held annually in June and is hosted by a local chapter.