2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

The underrepresentation of domestic students in graduate-level science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs has become a pressing national issue [1]. The declining participation of domestic students in STEM PhD programs presents a major challenge to the development of a skilled U.S. workforce [2]. Graduate education serves as a gateway to advanced research careers and leadership roles in various sectors, including industry, academia, and government. However, domestic students have a strong tendency not to pursue graduate school after getting a B.S. degree [3]. This poses great challenges to economic development, and national security [1]. Nowadays, universities struggle to recruit good domestic students for PhD study and research in sensitive high-tech areas, and it is difficult for employers to find U.S. citizens to work in specialty engineering areas. Hence, recruitment of domestic PhD students in engineering is a grand challenge, which will directly affect the future of the country. It is critical and urgent to broaden domestic students’ participation in STEM PhD programs. The research will focus on PhD students in materials science and engineering. PhD studies in this field serve as a gateway to several critical technological areas, including semiconductors (chips), critical minerals/materials, nuclear energy, and aerospace. Understanding and improving domestic student participation in materials science and engineering PhD program is particularly important because materials science and engineering underpin many of the nation’s critical industries. By identifying barriers, this study can help strengthen the domestic STEM workforce, ensure a reliable pipeline of skilled professionals, and maintain U.S. leadership in critical technologies.

This systematic review aims to synthesize the key factors influencing the domestic student pipeline in U.S. graduate material engineering, with a specific focus on the distinct yet interconnected phases of enrollment (the decision to begin graduate study), retention (continued progression and engagement), and attrition (departure from a program). The review adheres to the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines to ensure a comprehensive, transparent, and reproducible process [4]. The procedure consisted of four primary stages: First, in the identification stage, a systematic search was performed across major academic databases (e.g., Scopus, Web of Science, ERIC, Google Scholar). The search strategy employed a predefined set of keywords explicitly targeting the three phases, including terms related to “materials”, "engineering”, “graduate students," "enrollment," "recruitment," "retention," "persistence," "attrition," and "dropout." Second, during the screening stage, the initial pool of records was evaluated based on titles and abstracts. Third, in the eligibility stage, the full texts of the remaining articles were rigorously assessed against strict inclusion criteria. Studies were included only if they provided empirical data or theoretical analysis on factors directly impacting enrollment, retention, or attrition. Finally, in the inclusion and synthesis stage, the final corpus of eligible studies was analyzed using a thematic synthesis approach. Key findings were extracted and coded according to whether they pertained to barriers to enrollment, facilitators of retention, or drivers of attrition. Emerging themes were then identified and grouped to construct a coherent narrative that maps the interconnected factors. The findings will be presented in the full paper.