2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This paper describes the beginnings of a multi-institutional, collaborative research project. This project, funded by the National Science Foundation Directorate for STEM Education, investigates the development and manifestation of engineering students’ conceptualizations of well-being in engineering programs and careers.

Worsening student mental health and well-being is a crisis that needs urgent attention to support student wellness and the growth of the United States engineering workforce. Recent studies have identified that more than 75% of college students experience moderate to severe psychological distress and that more than 60% meet the criteria for one or more mental health diagnoses. These alarming statistics are rising rapidly across the nation and have grave consequences. Academically, un- or under-treated mental health problems are linked to diminished performance. Furthermore, stress is a top reason students cite for “stopping out”, or leaving, their degree programs. Even more concerning, studies have shown that suicide is the second leading cause of death of college students (estimated at 1,100 lives each year). In engineering, these issues are well-presented. Amongst studies, engineering students have suggested that stress is a “necessity,” demonstrating how harmful engineering cultures create pervasive narratives against well-being. Culture has also been shown to have a repeated effect on engineering student help-seeking behaviors and faculty support of engineering student mental health. We believe that novel mental health investigations are needed to support the development of the engineering student population. In part, we wonder whether students’ thinking regarding mental health is connected to the choices they make about their engineering careers over the course of their academic trajectory.

This five-year National Science Foundation-funded project began in August 2024 and is in the initial planning and data collection stages. Over the course of Year 1, we expect to interview a total of 55 undergraduate students (mixed-years) to understand what their conceptualizations of well-being are and how they developed them. Interviews will be 60-90 minutes, video recorded, and include semi-structured interviewing as well as concept map development to support elicitation. Following Year 1, first-year students will be interviewed yearly, using a repeat protocol, up until their graduation and entrance into their first position Year 5. Through this investigation, we expect to determine how students’ thinking regarding their well-being influenced their career choice and overall career trajectory.

In this paper, we will describe the development of our study and share some of our initial findings of Year 1 at time of publication. We expect our findings will help researchers and practitioners better understand engineering student mental health and its impacts upon long-term success, such as through students choices about their engineering careers.