2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Interest-Driven Major Pathways for Mid-Program Undergraduate Engineering Students

Presented at Investigating Student Pathways to and through Undergraduate and Graduate Programs

The purpose of this research paper is to explore how undergraduate engineering students make choices after they identify a new major interest. Despite an understanding that students’ interests are dynamic and include a variety of developmental phases, interest is often examined at one time point and for a singular major or discipline. This work seeks to take a broader longitudinal approach to engineering students’ changing interests, the choices they make, and the pathways they follow after identifying a new major interest. This phenomenologically guided study uses focus groups to explore the experiences of a cohort of 32 undergraduate engineering students during their first four or six semesters. Directed content analysis was used to identify four main pathways participants followed as they made decisions around new disciplinary interests. These findings extend current interest work by treating it as a dynamic construct and evaluating it with a finer, disciplinary approach.

Authors

Ms. Kelsey Louise Scalaro University of Nevada, Reno [biography]

Kelsey Scalaro is a doctoral candidate at the University of Nevada, Reno. Her emphasis is on undergraduate engineering student identity development with a dissertation focusing on how students access and interpret the recognition of their engineering identities. She seeks to leverage her B.S. and M.S. in mechanical engineering along with her five years of aerospace industry experience to design project oriented classes that equitably support engineering identity development.
Ms. Indira Chatterjee University of Nevada, Reno [biography]

Indira Chatterjee received her M.S. in Physics from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio in 1977 and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah in 1981. Indira is Associate Dean of Engineering and Professor of Electrical and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Nevada, Reno, NV.
Ms. Mackenzie C. Parker http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5891-3908 University of Nevada, Reno [biography]

Mackenzie is a doctoral student at the University of Nevada, Reno in the Department of Engineering Education. She received a Master of Science degree in Materials Science and Engineering from the same institution in 2018. Her research explores facets of engineering graduate student experiences relating to professional identity, motivation, work-related stress, and mental health.
Dr. Ann-Marie Vollstedt University of Nevada, Reno [biography]

Ann-Marie Vollstedt is a teaching associate professor for the College of Engineering at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR). Dr. Vollstedt completed her dissertation at UNR, which focused on exploring the use of statistical process control methods to assess course changes in order to increase student learning in engineering. Dr. Vollstedt teaches courses in engineering design as well as statics and runs the Engineering Freshmen Intensive Training Program. She is the recipient of the Paul and Judy Bible Teaching Excellence Award, F. Donald Tibbitt's Distinguished Teaching Award, The Nevada Women's Fun Woman of Achievement Award, and the UNR College of Engineering Excellence Award.
Dr. Adam Kirn http://orcid.org/https://0000-0001-6344-5072 University of Nevada, Reno [biography]

Adam Kirn is an Associate Professor of Engineering Education at the University of Nevada, Reno.
Mr. Derrick James Satterfield University of Nevada, Reno [biography]

Derrick Satterfield is a doctoral candidate in Engineering Education at the University of Nevada, Reno. His research focuses on engineering graduate students' experiences and motivation centered on career planning and preparation.

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