2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This Complete Research Paper explores how integrating microelectronics into a first-year engineering course influences students’ engagement, perceptions, and career pathways. Semiconductors, foundational to industries ranging from consumer electronics to national defense, require a robust workforce to meet growing demand. Initiatives like the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 emphasize the need for domestic workforce development, but addressing workforce gaps requires early educational interventions to cultivate technical skills, persistence, and interest in microelectronics.

This study investigates how embedding microelectronics into an introductory engineering course can foster engagement and persistence. Using Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) and a phenomenographic approach, the research examines (1) how prior experiences and barriers, such as access and social dynamics, affect students’ engagement, self-efficacy, and learning outcomes, and (2) how perceptions of the personal, academic, and societal relevance of microelectronics influence their persistence and outcome expectations. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with 18 participants from diverse backgrounds.

The findings, derived through two stages of structured coding with SCCT factors and pattern coding using thematic analysis, reveal that overall, students’ interest and persistence regarding microelectronics either increased or remained consistent throughout the course. Disparities in access to microelectronics prior to the course significantly shaped students’ initial attitudes and engagement with the technology. Differences in prior experience with microelectronics and coding influenced how students navigated the course. The team-based format amplified these effects, leading to both increased and decreased engagement with the technology depending on group dynamics. Despite these disparities, students approached the course with varied levels of confidence and openness, shaped largely by their perceptions of personal, academic, and societal relevance.

This study underscores the potential of early microelectronics interventions to create equitable learning opportunities and foster a skilled engineering workforce.