Readying the Engineering Pipeline: Community College Student Transition Into Engineering Programs Among Underrepresented Minorities

• In Event: The Many Perspectives and Understandings of STEM

Abstract

This examination explores the issue of college access among students seeking admission from two-year into four-year engineering degree programs. It specifically examines this issue as it pertains to underrepresented minorities (URMs). The study seeks to identify thirty students who identify as URMs and who have successfully transitioned into a selective engineering program from community colleges. By capturing voices of underrepresented students’ experiences as they navigated their pathway from a community college setting to a large research university, this study supplements largely quantitative analyses of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields regarding race/ethnicity. Preliminary data collected from a larger study will be analyzed, and trends that are unique to particular subgroups of URMs will be noted.

Author

• Bruk Berhane, University of Maryland - College Park