A disciplinary comparison of trajectories of U.S.A. engineering students

We are conducting a longitudinal, multi-institutional, and multivariate study of the trajectories of students in specific engineering disciplines in the U.S.A. to an extent never before possible. Focusing on the eleven partner institutions of the Multiple-Institution Database for Investigating Engineering Longitudinal Development (MIDFIELD), we examine trajectories of engineering students in five engineering disciplines by race/ethnicity and gender. This work-in-progress focuses on the largest fields: chemical (ChE), civil (CVE), electrical (EE), industrial (IE), and mechanical (ME) engineering. Our results show that all disciplines lose about half of their starters. However, when transfer students and others who switch into the majors are included, the results vary by race/ethnicity, gender, and engineering discipline. The metrics used are trajectories and stickiness in the major and in engineering. This work can inform educators, administrators, and policy makers about how engineering disciplines are racialized and gendered in different ways. Sharing this information can help engineering disciplines learn from each other.