Seeking STEM: The Causal Impact of Need-Based Grant Aid on Undergraduates’ Field of Study

• In Event: 2484 - Section on Sociology of Education Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 16. Pathways through Higher Education

Abstract

Increasing the number of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degrees is a national priority and one way to promote the economic mobility of students from low-income families. Prior research seeking to understand why demand for STEM majors outstrips supply often points to students’ lack of academic preparation, individual preferences for non-STEM majors, or a lack of information. In this project, we use data from a randomized experiment to investigate an alternative explanation related to resource constraints. Findings indicate that students from low-income families who were offered additional grant aid were 6.4 percentage points more likely to declare a STEM major than similar peers, representing a 40% increase. Moreover, the grant increased the share of students majoring in Applied STEM fields like engineering rather than Academic STEM fields like biology, for example. The grant offer did not change the share of students who declared a major, but rather reduced the likelihood of majoring in a Non-STEM field. Grant aid thus appears to be one avenue for increasing the share of low-income students studying STEM. We discuss implications for the public and private returns to education.

Authors

• Katharine Broton

• David B. Monaghan