2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Supporting informed major selection through curriculum-embedded modules and departmental engagement

Presented at FPD: Complete Papers - Student Major and Career Discernment

This full paper employs the push–pull model as a theoretical lens to examine how curricular and departmental interventions can shape students’ major decision-making processes within a first-year engineering program. Selecting an engineering major is one of the most consequential decisions undergraduate students make, to shape their academic trajectory, define career pathways, and impact their persistence in engineering. Yet many first-year students enter college with limited understanding of available majors, misconceptions about disciplinary content, or uncertainty about aligning personal interests with professional goals. This study used a pre-post survey to try to solve this challenge and investigate the factors of students’ major decisions.
A mixed-methods approach was used to evaluate the impact of these interventions. Quantitative pre- and post-surveys administered throughout the semester captured changes in students’ awareness, confidence, and perceived influences on their major choice. Within the push-pull model to analyze students’ major selection, push factors of major decisions refer to forces that motivate students to seek additional guidance; While pull factors represent features that attract students toward informed and confident choices. Two complementary interventions were designed to activate these dynamics: (1) curriculum-embedded modules, in which individual students and teams investigate a specific engineering discipline, analyze its curriculum and career pathways, and share findings with peers; and (2) cross-departmental workshop panels featuring faculty, advisors, alumni, and industry professionals who provide authentic insights into disciplinary practice, essential professional competencies, and pathways to employment opportunities.
Preliminary findings suggest that integrating push–pull dynamics into the first-year engineering curriculum enhances students’ knowledge of available majors, strengthens their decision confidence, and promotes alignment between self-perceptions, interests, and disciplinary fit. These results highlight how curriculum-integrated and cross-departmental panel interventions can support informed and intentional major selection, offering practical guidance for institutions seeking to improve student persistence and satisfaction in engineering programs.

Authors

Dr. Yi Cao UNC Charlotte [biography]

Dr. Yi Cao is a teaching assistant professor at William States Lee College of Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She earned her PhD from the Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech. She also worked as a research associate at the International Center for Higher Education Innovation(ICHEI), a UNESCO Category 2 Center for two years.
Dr. Junqiu Wang University of North Carolina at Charlotte [biography]

Dr. Wang is a teaching associate professor at Office of Student Development and Success, William States Lee College of Engineering, University of North Carolina Charlotte. He received my Ph.D. Engineering Education, Purdue University, M.S. Materials Engineering, Tsinghua University and B.S. Materials Engineering, University of Sci. & Tech. Beijing
Dr. Courtney Green P.E. University of North Carolina at Charlotte [biography]

Courtney S. Green, P.E. is an assistant teaching professor for the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering within Williams States Lee College of Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She holds an M.S. in Engineering with a focus in structural engineering and a Ph.D. in Educational Research, Measurement, and Evaluation from UNC Charlotte.
Dr. Anthony Bombik http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2508-8454 University of North Carolina at Charlotte [biography]

Dr. Anthony Bombik is an Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in the Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Sciences department. His research interests include structural batteries, electric vehicle pack optimization, lithium-ion battery modeling and estimation, aerospace structures, design optimization, and engineering education. He obtained his PhD in Aero Astro Engineering at Stanford University managing a research team on structurally integrated Li-ion batteries. Previously, he has worked as a flight control engineer intern at Boeing, a vibrations and loads engineer intern on Space Launch System, and an adjunct lecturer at Santa Clara University.
Dr. Courtney S Smith-Orr http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4346-8140 University of North Carolina at Charlotte [biography]

Courtney S. Smith, PhD is a Teaching Associate Professor at UNC Charlotte. Her research interests span the mentoring experiences of African American women in engineering, minority recruitment and retention, and best practices for
Dr. Joshua Dickenson UNC Charlotte

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 21, 2026, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 24, 2026

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