2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Various government agencies forecast a shortage of engineers caused by a combination of factors including an increase in job opportunities, attrition in the STEM pipeline, and exits from the labor force for various reasons. While efforts have been made by many institutions to address the high dropout rates in STEM fields at the undergraduate level, some are implementing measures to facilitate graduate education in engineering for students with non-engineering undergraduate backgrounds through the establishment of bridge programs. Although these initiatives are not the primary driver of the graduate student population, they have led to a rise in enrollment of students from non-engineering backgrounds in graduate engineering programs. At Grand Valley State University (GVSU), there has been a similar increase in applicants with undergraduate degrees in physical sciences (Math, Physics, or Chemistry), given their common interest in math, who would like to pursue a master’s in engineering. Consequently, the Graduate Committee began looking into the feasibility of making the graduate engineering program more accessible to meet the growing demand for engineers in West Michigan. Notably, this initiative has enabled GVSU to partner with Historically Black Colleges/Universities (HBCUs) that do not have engineering degrees to provide pathways for graduates from these institutions to pursue a graduate degree in engineering at GVSU. This paper will outline the general program plan developed for the onboarding of students from non-engineering majors into the GVSU MSE program, along with insights from both students within HBCU pipeline and those outside of it.