Re-examining the Relationship between Gender and College Major Decisions: A Longitudinal, Interview-based Approach

• In Event: 2183 - Section on Race, Gender, and Class Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 08. Race and Gender in College

Abstract

College major choice is an important component of horizontal stratification in higher education. Substantial existing research in this area has focused on gender differences in STEM majors, yet it remains unclear how gender guides the process of major selection or how gender interacts with students’ other socio-demographic identities to influence field of study decisions. In this paper, we address both of these issues by examining students’ college major decision processes over the course of their freshman year of college—the critical period before majors typically are declared in the sophomore year. We use a sample of students from three, less-selective, urban colleges in a major, public university system—a context often understudied in educational research but representative of the postsecondary destinations of most U.S. college-goers. We find that for these students, intersecting identities of class and immigration status are salient factors that influence major decisions, and these identities complicate traditional explanations of gender differences in college major choice. We use the concept of constraint frames to demonstrate how overlapping statuses of disadvantage contribute to an increased sense of constraint that shapes students’ college major decisions.

Authors

• Kate Khanna, Columbia University

• Greer Caitlin Mellon, Columbia University

• Christina Ciocca Eller, Columbia University