Student Choice and Persistence in Aerospace Engineering

Abstract

This longitudinal multi-institution study examines student outcomes and demographics in aerospace engineering in the United States over the period of 1987 to 2010. This large sample allows adoption of an intersectional framework to study race/ethnicity and gender together. In this paper, the demographics of students who choose aerospace engineering, their six-year graduation rates, trajectories of students entering and leaving aerospace engineering, and the “stickiness” of the discipline are examined. Hispanic men and women starting in engineering choose aerospace engineering at the highest rates (13.3 and 12.0%, respectively). Aerospace engineering graduation rates lag other disciplines, at best, by nine percentage points among Hispanic females and, at worst, by 24 percentage points among Black females. Retention in aerospace engineering is low for all students, but it is particularly so for Black men and women (both less than 12%). The result is an average of one Black woman graduate per program every 12.5 years. Asian women also have abnormally low persistence rates in aerospace engineering compared with other engineering disciplines (18.8 versus 40.9%). Students who start in aerospace engineering are 1.7 times more likely to leave the institution than to earn an aerospace engineering degree in six years. Recommendations for improving student retention include implementing programs to build community, as well as mentoring and encouragement.

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