2018 FYEE Conference

WIP: What's your major? First-year engineering students’ confidence in their major choice

Presented at Technical Session I

In this work-in-progress study, the engineering identities of students enrolled in a first-year engineering (FYE) program were surveyed to investigate whether students identify with engineering (in general or with a specific engineering major) during their first year and how differences in identities impact intent to persist in engineering. Literature suggests a strong engineering identity is linked to student retention and can positively impact a student’s trajectory within an engineering program. To investigate these interactions, a survey was distributed at a large public institution in the southeast at the beginning and end of the Fall semester. Most students reported they had decided on a specific engineering major even in the beginning of their first engineering course. While students are relatively confident in that major choice at the beginning of the year, their confidence increased by the end of the semester. Future work will invite students for interviews to elucidate understanding in how a student’s views of the engineering profession affect their FYE experience and the role the FYE curriculum has in their anticipated engineering major and themselves as engineers.

Authors

Ms. Katherine M Ehlert Clemson University [biography]

Katherine M. Ehlert is a doctoral student in the Engineering and Science Education department in the College of Engineering, Computing, and Applied Sciences at Clemson University. She earned her BS in Mechanical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University and her MS in Mechanical Engineering focusing on Biomechanics from Cornell University. Prior to her enrollment at Clemson, Katherine worked as a Biomedical Engineering consultant in Philadelphia, PA. Her research interests include identity development through research experiences for engineering students, student pathways to engineering degree completion, and documenting the influence of co-op experiences on academic performance.
Dr. Marisa K. Orr http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5944-5846 Clemson University [biography]

Marisa K. Orr is an Associate Professor in Engineering and Science Education with a joint appointment in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Clemson University.
Dr. Sarah Jane Grigg Clemson University [biography]

Sarah Grigg is an Assistant Professor in the Engineering Fundamentals Program at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Previously she was a senior lecturer in the General Engineering Program teaching engineering courses in problem solving, computer pro

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