Quantitative analysis of barriers to completion of engineering degrees for female-identifying and under-represented minority students

Abstract

This study examines barriers to successful completion of undergraduate engineering degrees amongst female-identifying and under-represented minority (URM) students at Seattle University. The goal of this data-driven study is to extract characteristics that differentiate students who do or do not successfully complete degrees within engineering. We analyze data on undergraduate students who were enrolled in the four engineering majors in the College of Science and Engineering (CSE) for any part of their time at Seattle University. We present results identifying barriers to students' successfully completing degrees in these programs, including examining the impacts of transfer versus first-time-in-college status, students' prior mathematics and science background, and pressures related to differing levels of unmet financial need.