Persistence, Engagement, and Migration in Engineering Programs. Research Brief

Those responsible for designing, maintaining, and delivering engineering education are asking questions to understand the outcomes of undergraduate engineering programs. These questions have been motivated by concerns about the declining interest in studying engineering, the continued lack of gender and ethnic diversity in the engineering population in education and practice, and the effectiveness of programs in preparing engineering graduates to take on today's engineering challenges. This study compared persistence and engagement of students in undergraduate engineering and in other college majors. The authors found that, in general, engineering students are more persistent than, and as engaged as, other college students.