The Women’s Studies Program at Iowa State University was founded in 1977 in order to coordinate existing courses in various departments, and also to develop new courses on gender and women. The name of the program changed to Women's and Gender Studies with the 2012-2013 catalog. This collection contains course materials created by students enrolled in Women's Studies 383, Women in Science and Engineering, and includes computer disks, oral history interviews, and papers. The papers are biographical in nature and document the lives of women scientists and engineers.

The Women’s Studies Program was founded in 1977 in order to coordinate existing courses in various departments, and also to develop new courses on gender and women. The name changed to the Women's and Gender Studies Program with the 2012-2013 catalog. Women’s Studies is defined as "the study of women’s history and social situations which examine rolls and contributions from a feminist perspective." The Women's and Gender Studies Program is interdepartmental with courses cross-listed in over a dozen other academic disciplines.

Initially, the program offered only a minor in Women’s Studies, but in 1996 the program began offering a major. The Women’s Studies program also sponsors workshops, speakers, and activities at ISU.

This collection (1999-[ongoing]) contains course materials created by students enrolled in Women's Studies 383, Women in Science and Engineering, and includes computer disks, oral history interviews, and papers. The papers are biographical in nature and document the lives of women scientists and engineers. The course was cross-listed in the Department of Zoology and Genetics and also offered as Zoology 383.

The collection is arranged chronologically and then alphabetically.