2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Background: This research paper extends previously reported results in which we demonstrated that students in project-based engineering programs report less self-reported stress and depression, stronger personal vision of an engineering career, more positive perceptions of department caring and diversity, and greater pride in their department than those the student population in Jensen and Cross’s study of engineering stress culture. No statistically different differences were found for reported anxiety or engineering identity in that work.

Purpose: We examine how these reported measures of engineering stress culture change over time as students participate in entirely project-based engineering and computer science programs. We seek to establish a baseline of measured changes in mental health (stress, anxiety, and depression), professional identity, and inclusion for students in project-based contexts as they progress through from program entry to graduation.

Design/Method: Our continued study uses the validated instrument developed by Jensen and Cross to gather data from the perspective of students pursuing engineering and computer science degrees in entirely project-based learning environments. We compare reported mental health, professional identity, and inclusion measures between students at different stages in their programs.

Results: Students who are new to project-based programs report less stress, less depression, a greater expectation of a career in engineering, and more positive reported feelings of department caring, pride, and diversity than the students studied by Jensen and Cross. After completing one project semester, however, their stress, anxiety, and depression levels become similar to the reference population even though their reported feelings of engineering career orientation and department inclusion remain significantly more positive.

Conclusions: Our results indicate the need for the important future work of determining the nature of the stress that students experience as they progress through our project-based programs, considering their much higher levels of engineering career orientation and feelings of inclusion. This may have important implications for further research into how the structure of project-based learning programs influence student learning and growth.