Graduate School or the Workforce? The Postbaccalaureate Decisions of Racial Ethnic Minority Students With Engineering Majors

• In Event: Graduate School Decisions and Success

Abstract

While current research on undergraduate racial ethnic minority students continues to provide insight on what repels, attracts, and retains them in STEM programs less is known about their post-baccalaureate decisions. Using a grounded theory approach, the aim of this study was to examine how undergraduate racial ethnic minority students with engineering majors decide between attending graduate school and entering the workforce. The preliminary findings reveal that in order to understand racial ethnic minority students’ post-baccalaureate decisions it is necessary to understand their undergraduate college experiences. For the participants of this study, interactions with faculty members proved to be salient.

Author

• Araceli Espinoza, University of Southern California - Rossier School of Education