Exploring Intersectionality in Major Identities: How Students Choose a Major

• In Event: Thursday Roundtable Session 4:20 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Navigating Higher Education: Exploring Belonging, Identity, and Resilience Among Undergraduate Students (Table 30)

Abstract

How do students in STEM fields see their identities – racial/ethnic, gender, personal, and academic – in relationship to their major choice? We conduct interviews with first year undergraduates in STEM fields and find the relationship is complex. Academic and demographic identities are often jointly, though sometimes never, salient. Instead, personality characteristics and their desired social role are central to students. Students from underrepresented backgrounds always had to reconcile their demographic identity with their major choice, even if they minimized its significance. Choosing minors in addition to their primary major allows students to satisfy multiple identities. We offer a comprehensive view of students’ identities and how they relate to their academic plans. Findings have implications for addressing underrepresentation in fields.

Authors

• Andrew Johnson, Michigan State University

• Devian Johnson, Michigan State University