Why Students Select the Civil Engineering Major

William Graves; Thomas James Matarazzo; Brock E. Barry,; Elizabeth Bristow; Mark Evans

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Conference: 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Baltimore , Maryland
Publication Date: June 25, 2023
Start Date: June 25, 2023
End Date: June 28, 2023
Conference Session: Committee on Educational Policy Presents: Holistic Program Topics
Tagged Division: Civil Engineering Division (CIVIL)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 11
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--44052
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/44052
Download Count: 228

Paper Authors

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William Graves United States Military Academy, West Point orcid.org/0000-0001-9094-7334

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William Graves, PhD, PE is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering at the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York.

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Thomas James Matarazzo United States Military Academy, West Point

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Thomas Matarazzo is an Assistant Professor with the Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering and Associate Director of High-Performance Computing in the Center for Innovation in Engineering at the U.S. Military Academy West Point

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Brock E. Barry, P.E. United States Military Academy, West Point

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Dr. Brock E. Barry, P.E. is the Director of the Civil Engineering Division and Professor of Engineering Education in the Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering at the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York.

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Elizabeth Bristow

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Mark Evans United States Military Academy, West Point

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Dr. Mark Evans, PE, F. ASCE is Professor of Geotechnical Engineering in the Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering at The United States Military Academy, West Point.

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Abstract

Understanding why students select their intended major can help us motivate and retain those students in a program of study. Ensuring that students remain motivated by their educational program greatly increases the likelihood that they will successfully complete the major.

Students at the XXXXXXXXXXXXX select their academic major during the spring of their first year. They start coursework in their major during the fall semester of their second year. One of the first courses that students take when majoring in the civil engineering program is CE201, Introduction to Civil Engineering. As the name implies, this 1 credit-hour course introduces students to the civil engineering profession through discussions covering a range of topics including: the engineering design cycle, required components of a profession, Codes of Ethics, and sustainability. The course was first introduced during the fall semester of 2018, and it has been delivered every fall semester since. One of the writing assignments in this course requires students to write a 2-3 page paper addressing the question: “Why did you choose to major in civil engineering?” This prompt has remained unchanged during the five semesters that the course has been delivered. While grading of the assignment focuses on traditional aspects of written work including substance, organization, style, mechanics, and documentation, a secondary aspect of the assignment, that is not graded, is the opportunity to record the cited reasons why students select the major. A series of nine topic areas was established and a spreadsheet was used to record each category individual students mentioned in their graded paper. That same spreadsheet, using the same nine topic areas, has also been unchanged during the years the assignment has been administered.

In addition to the five years of quantitative data, two years of original student papers are included in the available data set. This collective information will be used to evaluate notable trends in reasons why students select the civil engineering major at one academic institution. Statistical analysis will be used to identify trends in reported reasons for selecting the major. In addition, word and phrase analysis methods will be used on the students’ papers to generate higher levels of fidelity beyond the nine broad categories. Discussion related to the potential reason for observed trends will be presented.

This study will be of interest to faculty and administrators with a desire to understand the motivation behind their students’ major selection. The results of this study have the potential to significantly impact the activities and areas of emphasis used during recruitment of students to the civil engineering major.

Citation
Format

Graves, W., & Matarazzo, T. J., & Barry,, B. E., & Bristow, E., & Evans, M. (2023, June), Why Students Select the Civil Engineering Major Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--44052

TY - CPAPER
AB - Understanding why students select their intended major can help us motivate and retain those students in a program of study. Ensuring that students remain motivated by their educational program greatly increases the likelihood that they will successfully complete the major.

Students at the XXXXXXXXXXXXX select their academic major during the spring of their first year. They start coursework in their major during the fall semester of their second year. One of the first courses that students take when majoring in the civil engineering program is CE201, Introduction to Civil Engineering. As the name implies, this 1 credit-hour course introduces students to the civil engineering profession through discussions covering a range of topics including: the engineering design cycle, required components of a profession, Codes of Ethics, and sustainability. The course was first introduced during the fall semester of 2018, and it has been delivered every fall semester since. One of the writing assignments in this course requires students to write a 2-3 page paper addressing the question: “Why did you choose to major in civil engineering?” This prompt has remained unchanged during the five semesters that the course has been delivered. While grading of the assignment focuses on traditional aspects of written work including substance, organization, style, mechanics, and documentation, a secondary aspect of the assignment, that is not graded, is the opportunity to record the cited reasons why students select the major. A series of nine topic areas was established and a spreadsheet was used to record each category individual students mentioned in their graded paper. That same spreadsheet, using the same nine topic areas, has also been unchanged during the years the assignment has been administered.

In addition to the five years of quantitative data, two years of original student papers are included in the available data set. This collective information will be used to evaluate notable trends in reasons why students select the civil engineering major at one academic institution. Statistical analysis will be used to identify trends in reported reasons for selecting the major. In addition, word and phrase analysis methods will be used on the students’ papers to generate higher levels of fidelity beyond the nine broad categories. Discussion related to the potential reason for observed trends will be presented.

This study will be of interest to faculty and administrators with a desire to understand the motivation behind their students’ major selection. The results of this study have the potential to significantly impact the activities and areas of emphasis used during recruitment of students to the civil engineering major.
AU - William Graves
AU - Thomas James Matarazzo
AU - Brock E. Barry, P.E.
AU - Elizabeth Bristow
AU - Mark Evans
CY - Baltimore , Maryland
DA - 2023/06/25
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Why Students Select the Civil Engineering Major
UR - https://peer.asee.org/44052
DO - 10.18260/1-2--44052
ER -